The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball franchise based in Oklahoma city, Oklahoma. They play in the Southwest Divison 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 Major Professional North American sports leagues located in the state of Oklagoma.
Formerly the seatle SuperSonics, the team 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 Champinship. In Oklahoma City, the Thunder qualified for their first playoff berth during the 2009–10 season. They followed this success by winning their first division title as the Thunder in the 2010–11 season and their first Western Conference championship as the Thunder in the 2011–12 season, appearing in the NBA Fianls for the fourth time in franchise history and first since 1996, when the club was based in Seattle.
2011–2012: Making the Finals
In the 2012 NBA Finals, the Thunder selected Baylor University forward Perry Jones III with the 28th overall pick. The Thunder also signed free agents Hasheeen Thabeet, Daniel Orton and signed guards,Andy Rautins and DeAndre Liggins, as well as re-signing forward Serge Ibaka to a 4-year, $48 million extension. After failing to sign James Hardeb to an extension that was worth 4 years and $52 million, OKC decided to trade Harden rather than having to pay the luxury tax penalty. On October 27, 2012 the Thunder traded Harden along with center Cole Aldrich, and forwards Daequan Cook and Lazar Hayward to the Houston Rockets for Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb, two first round draft picks from Toronto and Dallas and one second round draft pick. Martin took over Harden's sixth-man role for the season. The Oklahoma City Thunder finished off with a 60-22 season, taking both the Northwest division title and top seed of the Western Conference. They faceed the 8th seeded Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs, featuring former team member James Harden. In game 2 of the series, Russell Westbrook fell down with an injury and was forced to miss the rest of the playoffs after having knee surgery. Without the team's 2nd leading scorer, the Thunder, who had a 3-0 lead, allowed the Rockets to bring series back to 3-2. In game 6, the Thunder defeated the Houston Rockets to advance to the second round of the NBA playoffs, facing a rematch of the 2011 second round, Memphis Grizzlies. The Thunder lost the series 4-1, losing 4 straight after winning Game 1 at home
OKC Roster
Player | # Number | Position |
---|---|---|
Kevin Durant | 35 | Small forward |
Russell Westbrook | 0 | Point guard |
Reggie Jackson | 15 | Point guard |
Serge Ibaka | 9 | Forward |
Derek Fisher | 6 | Point guard |
Kendrick Perkins | 5 | center |
Kevin Martin | 23 | Shooting guard |
Thabo Sefolosha | 2 | Shooting guard |
Nick Collison | 4 | Forward-center |
Hasheem Thabeet | 34 | center |
Jeremy Lamb | 11 | Shooting guard |
DeAndre Liggins | 25 | Shooting guard |
Ronnie Brewer | 8 | Shooting guard |
Perr Jones 3 | 3 | Power forward |
Daniel Orton | 33 | Center |