Larry O’Brien Legends, Part 14: What Could’ve Been
When the Sonics moved to Oklahoma City, Seattle had plenty of good reasons to be angry. In hindsight, the biggest loss was the fact that their team had just hired the best GM of the past 30 years, Sam Presti.
Presti proceeded to complete an unthinkable run of drafting that we will likely never see again. 3 weeks after he was hired, Presti drafted Kevin Durant with the 2nd overall pick in the 2007 draft. In 2008, he drafted Russell Westbrook with the 4th overall pick and Serge Ibaka with #24. Finally, in 2009, he drafted James Harden 3rd overall.
In 3 drafts, he selected 3 future MVPs, 2 of the best scorers ever, the current career leader in triple doubles and a multi-time finalist for the defensive player of the year. He did all this without ever picking 1st overall. Nobody knew it yet, but the Thunder had just finessed the entire NBA. In 2012, that would become crystal clear.
During the 2011 playoffs, the Thunder went from a promising young team to a burgeoning juggernaut. OKC trounced the post-Melo Nuggets before entering a 7-game slugfest with the Grit n Grind Grizzlies, which OKC won behind a 39-point masterpiece from KD. Only Dirk on a mission could stop them. They’d get revenge next season.
After finishing with a winning percentage of 72.1 (58-win pace), the Thunder met the same Mavericks that eliminated them last season. Knowing not to underestimate them, the Thunder swept them while Durant, Westbrook and Harden each averaged 18+ points.
Round 2 presented an intriguing matchup, Kobe’s Lakers. LA had been knocked out by the Mavs last season, but had also won back-to-back titles before that. It was truly a battle of youth and talent vs experience and wisdom.
OKC won game 1 by 29 points. Kobe was kept in check while KD and Westbrook each put up 25. Game 2 was much closer, but OKC managed to close it out, proving they had the talent to blow out teams and the composure to keep them at-bay. Still, the NBA knew damn well at this point to not count out Kobe Bryant, so the Thunder didn’t either.
Kobe was fantastic the rest of the series, averaging 39 points. OKC still closed them out in 5 games. Game 5 ended in a 16-point win but very easily could’ve gone down to the wire if not for a Westbrook steal, layup and loud crowd pop that you’ve definitely heard before. When he did that, OKC gained a 2-point lead with 4 minutes left in the 3rd. OKC would win the last 16 minutes of this game 34-20.
The conference finals saw them run into another veteran team with championship experience, the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs had actually swept their first two opponents and went on to win games 1 and 2 in San Antonio, providing OKC with their first taste of adversity. KD held up his end of the bargain, but Westbrook had really struggled. The Spurs really benefitted from their crafty left-handed 6th-man, if only OKC had that, oh wait, THEY DO.
Believe it or not, there was a time when Harden was clutch in the playoffs. He had actually put up 30 off the bench in game 2, only to be matched by his mirror: Manu Ginobili. For the next 4 games, Harden averaged 15 points per game. On the surface, good, but not super impressive, until you look at his shooting percentages. Harden shot nearly 70% from 3 (69.2% to be exact).
The constant threat of Harden combined with KD averaging 30 helped OKC win the next 4 games, clinching a spot in the NBA Finals. At the time, they were the 2nd youngest team ever to make it to the Finals (they’re 4th today). Regardless of how the Finals went, OKC now looked like a guaranteed dynasty. KD, Westbrook and Harden had torched the Western Conference’s savviest teams.
The Thunder met the Heatles in the Finals. LeBron James was determined to avenge the 2011 disaster and OKC stood in his way. Yet, to the shock of everybody, OKC threw the first punch. KD’s 36 and Westbrook’s 27, 8 rebounds and 11 assists off-set LeBron’s 30 to help the Thunder win game 1.
While that first punch was seismic, the damage was only temporary. LeBron and the Heat won the series in 5. Despite everything they had done, game 5 was the last game Harden ever played for the Thunder. OKC traded him to Houston during that year’s offseason. Only Durant has won a championship since and he only did it when he hitched himself to the Warriors’ wagon.
A lot has been said about this trio’s potential, as time has gone on, there’s been a growing belief that they never would’ve won together. I don’t agree. 2013-2016 presented a power vacuum OKC could’ve easily filled. KD, Russ and Harden covered for each other so perfectly and when they all got going, nobody could stop them.
Ironically, we’ve seen every possible duo from that trio on different teams. Those stints have shown us they were best together. Had they stayed together, I imagine their statistics suffer from sharing the ball, but their legacies as players would be even greater. Regardless of whether it would’ve worked, these 3 became young Larry O’Brien Legends in 2012.
