The Oklahoma City Thunder are a professional basketball franchise based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA); their home court is at Chesapeake Energy Arena. The Thunder's NBA Development League affiliate is the Tulsa 66ers, who are owned by the Thunder. The Thunder are the only team in the Big Four North American sports leagues in Oklahoma.
Formerly the Seattle SuperSonics, the Thunder were relocated in 2008 after a dispute between owner Clay Bennett and lawmakers in Seattle, Washington. The SuperSonics qualified for the NBA Playoffs 22 times, won their division six times and won the 1979 NBA Championship. In Oklahoma City, the Thunder qualified for their first playoff berth during the 2009-2010 season. They followed this success by winning their first division title as the Thunder in the 2010-11 season.
After an inaugural season filled with many adjustments, the Thunder hoped to improve during their second season in Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City did not make any major moves in the offseason, other than drafting James Harden from Arizona State University with the third overall pick in the NBA Draft. The Thunder selected Rodrigue Beaubois with the 25th pick in the 2009 draft before immediately trading him to the Dallas Mavericks for the 24th pick, C Byron Mullens from Ohio State University. The team then added veterans C Etan Thomas and G Kevin Ollie. The last major change to their roster occurred on December 22, 2009, when the team traded for Eric Maynor from the Utah Jazz. Maynor immediately supplanted Ollie as the backup point guard.
From the outset the young team looked determined and cohesive. The increasing leadership of Kevin Durant, along with the growing experience of the Thunder's younger players, were encouraging signs that the Thunder were improving. The 2009-10 season included several victories over the NBA's elite teams, including a 28-point blowout over the Eastern Conference champion Orlando Magic and a 16-point blowout of the reigning NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers. Road victories over the San Antonio Spurs, Utah Jazz, Miami Heat, Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks greatly enhanced their reputation. Though they hovered around .500 for the first half of the season, they eventually went on a 9-game winning streak that sent them into serious playoff contention. Kevin Durant became the youngest player in league history to win the scoring title, averaging 30.1 points per game while playing in all 82 games.
The Thunder finished 50-32, more than doubling their win total from the previous season. The 50-32 tied with the 2008 Golden State Warriors as the best 8 seeds in the modern Playoffs era, at least in terms of record. The Oklahoma City Thunder also had the same record as the Boston Celtics in this season. They finished fourth in the Northwest Division and eighth in the Western Conference playoff standings, and earned a spot in the 2010 NBA Playoffs. On April 22, the team secured their first playoff win in Oklahoma City when they defeated the defending-champion Los Angeles Lakers 101-96. This was also the Thunder's first playoff win at the Ford Center. However, the Thunder were eliminated by the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs, 4 games to 2.
Oklahoma City ranked twelfth in overall attendance in the NBA, and seventh in percentage of available seats occupied (98%, including 28 sellouts in 41 home games). The team's operating situation also continued to improve in 2009-10. Forbes Magazine estimated the team's franchise value at $310 million (an increase of $10 million over the prior year) with an estimated operating profit of $12.7 million (the first operating profit in years for the franchise).
Financially, the Thunder organization continued to build on the positive returns experienced from relocating from Seattle to Oklahoma City. In January 2011, Forbes Magazine estimated the franchise's worth at $329 million, up 6% from 2009-10 and ranking #18 in the NBA. The magazine also estimated the franchise's revenue at $118 million and operating profit at $22.6 million - up 6.3% and 78%, respectively, from the previous year. The Thunder finished the 2010-2011 season with 55-27 record, a five-win increase from their breakout season the previous year. The team also captured their first division title since moving to Oklahoma City, and seventh in franchise history.
In the wake of a highly anticipated fourth versus fifth seed matchup against the Denver Nuggets, Kevin Durant scored 41 points in Game 1 to set a new career playoff high. In the final game of the series, he again scored 41 and forward Serge Ibaka nearly tied the record for most blocks in a playoff game (10, set by Mark Eaton and Hakeem Olajuwon) with 9 blocks. With the victory, the Thunder were able to pull through and win the series, 4 games to 1, set to face off against the Memphis Grizzlies who achieved an eight seed upset over the San Antonio Spurs just days later. The Thunder advanced to the Western Conference Finals with a hard-fought 7-game series triumph over the Memphis Grizzlies. Durant was again the star, scoring 39 points in the clinching Game 7, while Russell Westbrook also had a triple-double. However, despite a hard battle with the Dallas Mavericks, the Thunder fell to the Mavericks 4-1 in the Western Conference Finals. The Thunder had a chance to tie the series in Game 4, but they were unable to hold a 15 point lead with five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and ended up losing in overtime by the score of 112-105.
After the Thunder reached the Western Conference Finals, hype for the team increased and many analysts predicted Oklahoma to reach the Finals, while some predicted the Thunder to win it all. The Thunder's chances of winning the championship increased due to the shortened season, where only 66 games would be played. That gave the Thunder an advantage, since most NBA analysts predicted that those teams whose rosters were relatively young and deep will be able to succeed in the shortened season. So before the Thunder entered the season, the pressure was on them to win the Western Conference, even all the way to the title.
And so far, OKC did not disappoint. During the extended lockout, Thunder players, notably Kevin Durant, James Harden, Thabo Sefolosha and Serge Ibaka all played in exhibitions in the States and in other countries to stay in shape while waiting for the season to begin. So when the abbreviated training camp began, OKC started with an intact roster and all players - with the exception of Russell Westbrook locked up for the future. In addition, another story of the Thunder was that Kendrick Perkins lost more than 30 pounds during the lockout. The Thunder made their first on - court appearance post - lockout against the Dallas Mavericks, winning both preseason games against the aforementioned team. They then won their first NBA season game against Orlando at home, then went on a three game winning streak. Kevin Durant nearly set history when he became the sixth player to score 30 or more points in four consecutive games at the start of the season. In addition, the Thunder was the first to sweep their back - to - back - to - back games, winning a home - and - home series with the Houston Rockets, then routing the San Antonio Spurs. In addition, Thunder players Durant, Westbrook, Harden, Perkins, and Ibaka made it to the 2012 All-Star ballots.
