OKC Thunder: How a fly over state has been caught in the middle of NBA History
By Rylan Stiles
Dirk Nowitzki’s legacy runs through OKC:
Let’s just go in order. That means starting with Dirk Nowitzki. On top of the jaw-dropping, gut-wrenching, blow-for-blow, tooth and nail battles that the OKC Thunder and Dallas Mavericks get into each time they play, you can not tell the story of Dirk’s historic career without the Thunder.
After years of disappointment, highlighted by an upsetting first-round loss to the Warriors in 2007, after a crippling NBA Finals loss to the Miami Heat in 2006 in a series that D-Wade shot approximately 99 free throws, Dirk’s Mavs finally reached the mountain top.
Dirk Nowitzki, the big German forward that transcended the game and will forever live in basketball lore, and finally got over the hump in 2011. On his way to his first and last NBA Championship, Dirk’s Mavs had to go through the OKC Thunder.
That series lasted just five games in the Western Conference Finals but it took a pair of 40 point games from Dirk to get past the upstart Thunder. That series is one that you have to include when telling the story of the game of basketball. That will be a theme for all of these players.