The OKC Thunder All-Decade team rolls on with the starting center, one of the toughest positions to pick…literally.
Over the last decade, the OKC Thunder has seen plenty of success. Since the move to Oklahoma City, the organization has been one of the most successful in the sport. Headlined by the point guard and small forward positions, the center has often done the dirty work for the boys in blue.
The OKC Thunder All-Decade starting lineup concludes with this article. So far we have run through the following.
and now we are here at Center. It is a tough choice, literally. Throughout the decade the OKC Thunder has always had one of the toughest guys in the league starting as the man in the middle.
Between Kendrick Perkins and Steven Adams, this was one group you did not want to start a fight with. You want absolutely no smoke with Perk or Stevo.
Both players saw a ton of individual and team success in their time with OKC as well, so who ends up getting the nod to be named the starting center for the OKC Thunder All-Decade team?
Candidate number one
Steven Adams, OKC Thunder from 2014-present
The young center that learned under Kendrick Perkins, has had a yet of a career. Since entering the year, the project big man out of Pittsburgh University has been a borderline All-Star. Adams earned all-rookie honors when he eventually dethroned Perkins as the starting big man in OKC and left Perkins headed for Cleveland.
For his career, Adams has averaged almost ten points with seven rebounds per game all in this decade. Almost a steal and a block per game add to just how impactful he has been on the defensive end of the floor.
Steven Adams anchoring lineups since 2014 has been huge for the OKC Thunder and cleaned up a lot of mess on the back end left by his superstar running mates.
Candidate number two
Kendrick Perkins, OKC Thunder from 2010-2015
In his time in OKC, Perkins averaged four points and five rebounds per game and was a part of the first blockbuster trade in team history. Every Oklahoman remembers where they were when Sam Presti pulled off this trade for an NBA Champion center that would bring toughness, leadership, and experience to Bricktown.
Averaging over a block per game, the defensive production the Boys in Blue have gotten from the center position this decade has been huge. So what if it took the first offensive play every game being a Perk post up to make it happen?
Candidate number three
Nenad Krstic, OKC Thunder from 2008-2011
Ah yes, the first center we have ever known in Oklahoma City. Our first man in the middle. The man, the myth, the legend, Nenad Krstic. You are right, he is only on this list because I want every position to have three players, but on the lowest of keys, Nenad Krstic was pretty good. Pretty…pretty good (in my best Larry David voice).
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Krstic averaged eight points and five rebounds per game. The former all-rookie walked so the OKC Thunder could run. Hat tip to Nenad Krstic.
And the winner is
Third place: Nenad Krstic.
Second place: Kendrick Perkins. This hurts me to put Perkins second. There is a ton of nostalgia around him, and that entire run he was a part of in OKC.
Winner: Steven Adams. The fact that Steven Adams took half a season and learned from Kendrick Perkins and has played like a grizzled vet since year two is incredible.
Adams has been the steady hand on defense and a solid contributor on offense. Again, he has played at a borderline All-Star form in the last two or three years and is only hurt by playing in such a stacked conference.
One last post for the All-Decade team…the sixth man coming right up.