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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.

Thunder

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Russell Westbrook Draws Jordan Comparisons: Today in Sports History

On March 4th, 2015, Russell Westbrook became the first player since Michael Jordan in 1989 to have four consecutive triple-doubles. Westbrook also was the first since 89 Jordan to have back-to-back triple-doubles with at least 40 points. The Oklahoma City Thunder star would eventually set the new record for most consecutive triple-doubles in 2019, with eleven. The record prior to that was Wilt Chamberlain nine games late in his 1968 season. Westbrook set then-career highs with 49 points and 16 rebounds, along with 10 assists, to help the Thunder beat the Philadelphia 76ers 123-118 in overtime.

@FlameRaptorRaven

Larry O’Brien Legends, Part 13: The King’s First Conquest

When deciding a Legend for the Cavs, I asked myself a simple question: does LeBron have a playoff performance that hasn’t been talked about to death? To my shock, there is: his first one. I don’t need to tell you about LeBron’s origin story, if you have been following the NBA for more than a year, you definitely know it. Nevertheless, I will provide the cliff notes. LeBron James was the most hyped prospect in NBA history, full stop. His combination of peerless athleticism and supreme intelligence on the floor as a kid in high school had scouts drooling. He was the clear cut #1 choice in the legendary 2003 draft class, ultimately selected 1st overall by his hometown team, the Cleveland Cavaliers. He immediately lived up to the hype in his rookie season, putting up 21 points, 5.5 rebounds and 6 assists per game; granted, on poor efficiency. He immediately corrected that issue in year 2 and his averages jumped to 27, 7 and 7. Cleveland missed the playoffs in both seasons, but that finally changed in year 3. The King averaged 31, 7 and 7. It is the single highest scoring average of his illustrious career. Most importantly, it got Cleveland into the playoffs. This would be Lebron’s first playoff run ever, who was his first opponent? Despite finishing with the 6th best record in the NBA (3rd in the East), the Cavs couldn’t win their division and ended up as the 4th seed facing the 5th seed Washington Wizards. This is the Gilbert Arenas-Antawn Jamison Wizards. Agent 0 also put up the highest scoring average of his career with 29 points per game to go along with 6 assists and 2 steals. Jamison chipped in with his own 20. Those 2 helped Washington finish 3rd in points per game and 6th in offensive rating. If LeBron was going to win his first playoff series, he would have to match their output. In game 1, LeBron’s playoff debut, he put up 32, 11 and 11 while leading Cleveland to a 97-86 win. A combination of an Arenas-bounce back and LeBron strugglefest (under 30% shooting) helped the Wizards win game 2. Don’t worry, this did not become a trend. LeBron dominated game 3 in Washington. He put up his first 40-point playoff game, including a close jump shot with 5 seconds left to win the game. He replicated it again in game 4, but he ‘only’ put up 38 and the Cavs lost to make this a best-of-3. Game 5 presented the fork in the road. It would become one of the best duels in playoff history. Gilbert Arenas put up 44 points on 58% shooting (67% from 3). Considering Jamison put up 32, you’d think that’d be enough to win. Unfortunately for them, LeBron put up 45, 7 and 6. The last of those 45 points was a game winning layup in the dying seconds. Although Arenas put up 36 in game 6, it wouldn’t matter. LeBron’s 32 plus 50+ points from the bench gave Cleveland the edge and cemented LeBron’s first ever playoff series win. The Cavs met the Goin to Work Pistons in round 2. Although the series went to 7, the Pistons would advance. Still, LeBron held up his end. 27, 9 and 6 are great numbers, even on below average shooting (44%). He just couldn’t beat the Pistons on his own. 27, 8 and 2 in game 7 are good numbers, but not enough to save a team when nobody else scores more than 10. For LeBron’s first playoff run, he was brilliant. He averaged 31, 8 and 6. Those 31 points per game are actually the 4th highest of his entire career, higher than each of his championship runs. Those averages were driven by 8 30-point games. It’s an amount he has surpassed just 5 times in his career. He is also the youngest to ever accomplish that feat. Of course you know the rest of LeBron’s story. He goes on to destroy that Pistons team in 2007, makes his first finals and goes on to have MANY more incredible playoff moments. I just find it fun to look back on how LeBron’s near-untouchable legacy as a Larry O’Brien Legend started by crushing the Wizards. Also, feel free to use this any time someone tries to make the BS “LeBron’s not clutch” argument. That shit was false from day 1.

@FlameRaptorRaven

Larry O’Brien Legends, Part 12: The Ankle Game

From 1980 to 2010, the Detroit Pistons were genuinely one of the NBA’s best franchises. You likely know about the 2 best eras in their franchise’s history that define that period of excellence. Of course there is the ‘Goin to Work’ era that is universally beloved, then there are the Bad Boys who are very much not beloved and in many cases not respected. At the start of the 80s, the Pistons were a dumpster fire with a promising point guard named Isiah Thomas. In the mid 80s, they became a pretty good team with an electric offense led by that aforementioned point guard. But by the late 80s, Thomas and the Pistons were sick of being pushed around, so they decided to push back. They became a defence-first, unselfish group that focussed on not just winning games, but breaking teams. If you ask the players today, they’d tell you that they wanted to break teams mentally and how that was their priority beyond all else. However, in my personal opinion, even if that is true, the Pistons did it by beating up everyone they came across. While some would argue the Bad Boys era began in 1986-87, I’d actually argue it truly started the next season. 87-88 was the first season Detroit finished as a top 3 defence (top 3 in defensive rating and opponent points per game). They won 54 games and entered the playoffs as a team that was a contender, but still believed to be a step behind the Larry Bird Celtics, who had eliminated them in 2 of the last 3 seasons. Well, in those playoffs, the Pistons avoided a historic collapse and beat the Bullets in 5, then beat the MJ-led Bulls in 5 and faced those Celtics in the conference finals. After a hard-fought series, it was the Pistons who came out victorious, led by Isiah Thomas who averaged 23 points, 8 assists and 3 steals. That included 2 separate 35-point games to help Detroit slay their demons. That victory set up a Finals matchup against the Showtime Lakers. Even though the Pistons were seen as underdogs going in, they had the Lakers on the ropes. Through 5 games, the Pistons had a 3-2 series lead. They were 1 win away from their first ever championship. Then game 6 happened. At halftime, the Lakers held just a 7-point lead. The game was certainly in their hands, but far from over. Isiah Thomas proved that with an incredible start to the 3rd quarter, putting up 14 points to lead a Pistons rally that ultimately gave them the lead. Just when it looked like he was going to lead them to victory, disaster struck. On a fast break, Thomas stepped on Michael Cooper’s foot and rolled his ankle. He went down immediately and it was clear he was writhing in pain. He needed help to get off the court and to the bench. His injury has since been described as a severe ankle sprain. That would make it a grade 3 sprain which means his ligament completely tore apart. The recovery on that injury is usually 1-2 months. Even if it was a grade 2, that is still a partial tear with a recovery timeline of up to a month. While Thomas was on the bench, the Lakers took the lead back. It seemed like they got a huge break. Detroit’s best player was off the floor and the Lakers would surely cruise to victory. Just when Detroit looked doomed, Isiah limped back onto the floor. It’s impressive he can even walk with that injury, but what he did next was nothing short of miraculous. With Michael Cooper hounding him, Isiah Thomas scored 11 of Detroit’s last 15 points, including a turnaround 3-pointer right before the buzzer. When he entered the game, the Pistons were down 8, at the end of the 3rd, Detroit had a 2-point lead. His 25 points in the 3rd is the Finals record for most points in a quarter. I highly recommend you watch the highlights for yourself. It’s so clear he can barely put any weight on his ankle. When there’s a stoppage in play, his limp becomes so obvious. It is simply one of the gutsiest and greatest performances in sports history. Isiah Thomas finished the game with 43 points, 8 assists and 6 steals. Thomas, Jerry West and Allen Iverson are the only players in NBA history to put up a 40-point and 5 steal performance in a Finals game. Sadly, this game did not clinch the championship as a controversial foul call in the final seconds gave Kareem free throws to win the game for LA, which he nailed. In game 7, Thomas wasn’t able to play the entire game and the Lakers won by 3. Isiah Thomas has called that injury and loss the most painful moment of his career. Thankfully, the Pistons returned in 1989 and destroyed the competition to win their first ever championship. They did it again in 1990 with Isiah Thomas winning Finals MVP. The Bad Boys Pistons are remembered for many reasons. Some of those reasons make people smile and others that make others frown. No matter what you think of the Bad Boys, this performance deserves to be immortalized. Even though it was the year before he finally won it all, Isiah Thomas became a Larry O’Brien Legend on a bad ankle.