Former and current OKC Thunder players Westbrook, Durant, Harden and Paul on 2010’s All-NBA Teams
SI’s All-Decade, All-NBA teams boasts three former OKC Thunder superstars and Chris Paul. Only the Warriors come close to matching that many inclusions.
First of all, the fact the OKC Thunder can lay claim to having three regular season Most Valuable Players on the club at one time is incredible. It’s also a little sad given all three were together in Oklahoma City for three full seasons and got to the NBA Finals a single time.
In retrospect, there may be more angst for Thunder fans in the future when it sinks in how rare this situation was. With three years of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and eight by the latter two and only one NBA Finals sure feels like a big dose of underachieving. Especially if General Manager Sam Presti isn’t able to manifest another elite team.
That said, how likely is it that one team will ever have three Most Valuable Players on it ever again? Let’s rephrase that to be ‘organically have’ because in this NBA era superstars learned to align their self-interests, collude and ensure they were playing alongside a peer(s) or equal talent.
Come to think of it with the All-Decade lists trending in the news there will probably be one coming with the 10 big changes in the NBA this decade. Number one should be how LeBron James changed the game. As the league’s top star he did things no other in his position has down prior. By refusing to play without other superstars and handcuffing his teams by also refusing to sign long term contracts he gave all the power to the players.
I digress– here are the All-Decade teams as per Rohan Nadkarni of SI’s The Crossover:
First Team All-NBA of the 2010s:
Two of the Thunder superstars nab 40 percent of the positions on the first team which speaks to the underachieving point above.
- Stephen Curry
- James Harden (three seasons with OKC Thunder)
- Kawhi Leonard
- Kevin Durant (eight seasons with OKC Thunder)
- LeBron James
Second Team All-NBA of the 2010s:
More from Thunderous Intentions
- Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
- Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
- 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
- Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
- Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder
The man who will go down in franchise history as the embodiment of the Thunder (Westbrook) grabs a spot on the team and the player he was traded for (plus a slew of draft picks/swaps) joins him.
Third Team All-NBA of the 2010s:
The only All-NBA team without any OKC Thunder (former or current) on it.
- Kobe Bryant
- Dwyane Wade
- Giannis Antetokounmpo
- Blake Griffin
- Dirk Nowitzki
There you have the list of All-NBA teams of the past decade as per Sports Illustrated. I can’t say I disagree on any of the players selected. How about you? Is there a player who shouldn’t be on the list or one who missed the cut? The only one I’d be tempted to add is Manu Ginobili, but I have a bias for the man who caught a bat with his bare hands and used those same mitts to throw a pass cross court that resulted in my breaking my favorite mug as I jumped up in sheer shock at his audacity and precision.
Next. Thank you, Russell Westbrook; a trip down memory lane. dark
Let us know what you think about the selections and the fact so many OKC Thunder players made the cut in the comments section.