Thunderous Intentions
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Views from OKC: An ode to a marvelous, terrifying regular season

By Tony Heim

Mar 29, 2017; Orlando, FL, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan huddles with Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0), guard Victor Oladipo (5), center Steven Adams (12) and teammates during the second half at Amway Center. Oklahoma City Thunder defeats the Orlando Magic 114-106 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 29, 2017; Orlando, FL, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan huddles with Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0), guard Victor Oladipo (5), center Steven Adams (12) and teammates during the second half at Amway Center. Oklahoma City Thunder defeats the Orlando Magic 114-106 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 26, 2017; Houston, TX, USA; OKC Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) huddles with teammates during the third quarter against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center. Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 26, 2017; Houston, TX, USA; OKC Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) huddles with teammates during the third quarter against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center. Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /

Views from OKC is a daily diary about the current state of the OKC Thunder. Today we take a look at a the wild ride that was the regular season.

What. A. Season.

As Thunder fans we have grown accustom to rooting for a championship contender. That’s not what this team is. No, this team is similar to the early Oklahoma City teams with a little twist. While most of the Thunder are learning their role in this league, an MVP candidate resides in OKC, making this team still relevant.

The maintained relevance has been shocking. Oklahoma City lost Kevin Durant, Serge Ibaka and Dion Waiters and replaced them with Victor Oladipo, Domantas Sabonis, Ersan Ilyasova, Alex Abrines and Semaj Christon. That’s a haul built to help the team in the future, not this year. But alas, the Thunder only lost eight less games from last season.

MUST READ: The Kiwi Bible – The ultimate guide to Steven Adams

That’s the power of Russell Westbrook.

I’ve never been a Westbrook-stan until this season. But watching him evolve into an all-around stud while willing this team to 47 wins has been one of the greatest achievements I’ve witnessed, sports or not.

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But despite what the national media will tell you, this season is more than just the Westbrook show. It’s about watching Jerami Grant evolve into one of the most exciting young players in the league. It’s about Abrines breaking James Harden’s rookie three-point shooting record. Shoot, it’s even about complaining about watching Kyle Singler get minutes some games.

The Thunder may not be championship competitors this season, but they laid the groundwork for future success. Oh and they made a whole lot of highlights in the process.

The Thunderous Intentions crew labored for hours last night, discussing the best highlights from a remarkably fun season. It’s impossible to remember ALL of the best Westbrook passes, Grant dunks, Steven Adams‘ alley oops and Singler blown layups. But dangit we tried.

Let’s start with Westbrook. Of course we can only start at one place.

My MVP case starts and ends with this NOT being the first play we turn to.

Hahahahaha this is third!

The kid showed he could pass too.

That wasn’t a one-time thing of course.

In a season of highlights from Westbrook, this made Thunder fans the happiest however.

All those great plays culminated in this fantastic celebration of Westbrook’s historic season.

Here’s the thing…other players made some incredible plays too. Of course my favorite was this:

LOL you thought Jerami Grant was done there?

THE KID IS A DEFENSIVE STUD TOO.

Speaking of chase down blocks, Andre Roberson took the crown as the best transition defender in the league.

Roberson’s biggest impact though? Standing up for all of Oklahoma.

Semaj Christon also cemented himself as an Oklahoma legend.

Semaj can’t shoot unless it’s from full-court though.

Same with Taj Gibson it turns out.

Christon wasn’t the only Thunder rookie providing highlights for us.

Thought that was impressive? The Spaniard Sniper had to one-up his rookie buddy.

How did it take this long to get to this dunk?

With Westbrook playing point guard the alley oop became a staple of the Thunder offense. And for good reason:

Let’s step away from the court for just one second.

But to sum this season up in one video?

Russell Westbrook and the OKC Thunder did the unthinkable this season: they blocked out the loss of Kevin Durant and made us fall in love with a new team. We may not be as talented as year’s past, but there’s hope. Beyond hope, this team provides us with a more entertaining product than we’ve ever seen.

Watch all those highlights. Now think about all the plays we missed. All the extra Westbrook passes, Grant dunks/blocks, Adams oops. We’re not going to contend this year and that’s okay. Because this group of players, coaches and front office personnel did everything they could to make this season unforgettable.

Now let’s make some memories in the playoffs.

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