OKC Thunder In the news: Westbrook beats Tiger, NBA finals set, draft prospect Carsen Edwards
OKC Thunder In the news features history in the making as Westbrook beats Tiger, former Thunder players part of exclusive NBA benchmark and more draft prospect analysis.
In the news for Sunday, May 26th features OKC Thunder superstar Russell Westbrook beating Tiger Woods at the poker table. In addition, two former Thunder players are part of an exclusive trio in the NBA record books, and Thunderous Intentions dives into more draft prospects.
Betting on the Brodie:
It was a day of takedowns with one occurring on the hardwood and one at a poker table. First up Thunder superstar, Russell Westbrook participated in Tiger Woods annual philanthropic event called “Tiger Jam”. Athletes and celebrities gathered to play golf and poker to benefit Tiger’s charity the TGR Foundation. Westbrook went all in against arguably an athlete as competitive as he is at the poker table and came out on top.
Bleacher Report provided the telling video of the two athletes as the Brodie takes down Tiger as the river is splayed on the table and both athletes had gone all in. Initially, Tiger thought he had won the pot but when the third card appears it is Russ who claims the prize.
https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1132417343290728448
In the video, Westbrook’s left hand is clearly sporting some sort of bandage or cast. This would be from the surgery he had to fix a torn ligament in a finger on his left hand. This was the injury Adrian Wojnarowski cited at season end and Rylan Stiles provided background on here.
Story includes details on further procedures with George and Westbrook, including George's labrum in left shoulder and 'proactive maintenance' on Westbrook's right knee. https://t.co/i8DcNm2awT
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 7, 2019
History made as NBA Finals set:
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Those who follow me know I live in Toronto and was hoping for a Toronto Raptors – OKC Thunder NBA Finals. Unfortunately, the latter part of that equation ended with OKC’s first round oust. However, Saturday night my other preseason pick delivered as the Raptors won the Eastern Conference Finals.
Sparked by a late game comeback to erase a 15 point deficit the Raptors went on a 26 to 3 run and defeated the Milwaukee Bucks. As per NBA.com, Toronto becomes just the sixth team in history to come back and win a Conference Finals after losing the first two games.
One of those six teams to accomplish this feat was none other than the OKC Thunder. The Thunder also ironically won four straight games to defeat the San Antonio Spurs and also went on to their first and only NBA Finals appearance.
Two former OKC Thunder players part of an exclusive NBA club:
Another irony is three players were on two of the teams who mounted the 0-2 comeback and two are former Thunder players. Kendrick Perkins was on the 2012 OKC team and last season’s Cavaliers team. Serge Ibaka joins him having also played on that 2012 team and is now with the Raptors. The third player is LeBron James who was on both Cavaliers teams in 2007 and 2018.
Raptors become 6th team to come back from 0-2 to win Conf Finals. 3 players have the distinction of playing on 2 of those teams LeBron (Cavs x2) & former OKC Thunder players Kendrick Perkins (Cavs 2018) & Serge Ibaka (Raptors) who both played on 2012 Thunder squad. #ThunderUp
— Thunderous Intentions (@thunderousint) May 26, 2019
Additionally, this will be the first time the NBA Finals will include a team located outside the United States. The NBA Finals begins on Thursday, May 30 in Toronto with the Golden State Warriors looking to three-peat without (at least initially) the services of Kevin Durant.
Carsen Edwards could be a great fit for OKC Thunder:
Thunderous Intentions continues our Draft Prospect Series and Rylan Stiles dives in with Purdue University point guard Carsen Edwards.
"That is where Carsen Edwards comes in. The scrappy point guard that stole College Basketball fans hearts during this year’s March Madness tournament with how he willed his Purdue team to wins throughout the postseason.An undersized point guard does not sound like the pick Sam Presti would make, or even should make at face value. But come with me on a journey down Edwards Avenue, and ignore the fact that the pick might already be promised away."
Later today, T.I. looks at the presumed top two picks detailing the prospects and considers how these athletes remaining in the West may affect the Thunder.
Next. Season Review: Paul George’s MVP-caliber season. dark
That wraps up in the news for Sunday, May 26. Enjoy the rest of your weekend and Memorial Day, but make sure to stay connected with Thunderous Intentions.