By Zack Sawyer|April 11, 2023
Photo by Benyam Kidane at The Sporting News
Any listeners of our content will know that I am a near fanatical Oklahoma City Thunder supporter. So, for my first bit of writing content on our website I figured it fitting that I put some of my Thunder thoughts to paper, so here goes.
Champions in next 4 years or bust! This is the hyperbolic, eggs before they are hatched mentality that is swarming around in my heart and in my soul. What I have witnessed from this team this year, while having no expectations of success and the youngest roster in the entire league (23.4 avg age) is nothing short of spectacular. We (yes I said we) currently sit at 39 wins beating our Vegas over/under mark by 15.5 wins and there is still one more to go with Memphis coming to town this Sunday. How did we get here? Let’s back it up a little bit.
The date is July 10, 2019 and a trade has been announced between the Clippers and the Thunder sending Paul George to LA for Danilo Gallinari, 1st Rd Picks (’22, ’24, ’26), pick swaps in (’23, ’25), and Shai Gilgeous freaking Alexander. No one could have known on this day what exactly this trade would mean but I can say from my point of view I was very pleased with the haul and I only thought of Shai as an above average, potentially second or third banana on a good team type guy. Turns out I was very much mistaken, and we now have what I think is the leader of a championship team, scoring 31 PPG, playing near elite defense, and possibly achieving First Team All-NBA honors at the end of this the 2022-23 NBA season. This one player alone would have made this transaction in 2019 a stellar one for the Thunder considering the inconsistent health status of George, but the fact that this is only one piece with much more coming in the future makes this one of the best trades I have ever seen.
AP Photo/Seth Wenig
Ok let’s address something a little less glamorous. 2021 and 2022 were some of the hardest times to be a fan of a specific franchise that I have experienced. What ended up happening is I developed a defense mechanism involving first a numbing that allowed me to watch losses without my mood deteriorating. This numbness transformed into watching a loss and my brain registering that as a win for my franchise. The pangs of both shame and pride not only applied to myself pulling for my own team to lose, resulting in a better draft pick for us, but also to the lineups and basketball product that the OKC organization were putting on the court. I knew that what the front office and coaching staff were doing was the best chance for us to better our chances for future success but I also was tired of hearing national media figures chastising our team for the blatant tanking (other teams has done far worse for far longer I might add). What these 2 abominable seasons gave us were the 6th pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Josh Giddey (dog) and the 2nd pick in the 2022 draft, Chet Holmgren (probable dog).
Photo via Sporting News
Now back to patting the front office on the back. With the 12th pick in the 2022 NBA draft the Thunder selected Jalen Williams out of Santa Clara, who had rocketed up the draft board of many teams in the days leading up to draft night, hoping to continue rounding out the long, smart, good feel for the game roster that was starting to form. Remember that Paul George trade? This is the second significant piece to be added as a result and we are still counting baby! JDub has exceeded expectations to a degree almost unimaginable and continues to show facets of his game that trend towards stardom, sporting a 18.7/5.5/4.3 with 1.7 stl and 55/45/88 (literally unheard of for a rookie perimeter player) splits since the beginning of February. Thank you Los Angeles Clippers!
Photo via Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images
In summation what we have here is a young core of SGA (24), a bona fide NBA star that is pushing Top 10 in the league status. Josh Giddey (20), a giant wing/point guard with some of the best passing and feel for the game I have seen at his age. Jalen Williams (22), a do it all wing with elite scoring and defensive ability already in his rookie year and Chet Holmgren (21), a 7 foot unicorn with great instincts in protecting the rim and a real ability to spread the floor for the rest of his team. By the way this team should be in the play-in tournament this year and they didn’t even get to see the Chet lace up the sneakers for one game this year. I am over the moon for this team and I don’t care who knows it. They are loveable guys, they play the game the right way and with consistent effort, and they are damn good. Get prepared NBA, we got next!
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