5 things the OKC Thunder can learn from ‘The Last Dance’

Team cohesion and fit matter:

Consider the teams of the late 80s and 90s and you’ll find only a handful of clubs who were perennial favorites. Larry Bird‘s Celtics, Magic Johnson‘s Lakers, Isiah Thomas‘ Pistons, Hakeem Olajuwon‘s Rockets, and Michael Jordan’s Bulls.

The Lakers, Pistons, and Rockets all won back-to-back titles but weren’t able to three-peat. Bird’s club made it to four consecutive finals but never won back-to-back championships. And, while Olajuwon’s Rockets did win in consecutive years those titles came during the two seasons MJ was playing baseball.

In fact, since the Bulls final season, only Kobe and Shaq’s Lakers delivered a three-peat. The Shaqless – Kobe Lakers, Heat, and Warriors are the only other post-Jordan Bulls teams to win back-to-back titles.

What made the Bulls the outlier was the overall fit of the club. They complimented each other both in terms of skillset and personalities. Dennis Rodman, of course, was a bit of an outlier but when he hit the hardwood it was all business, and that suited MJ and Scottie just fine.

The point here is the compilation of a team is vital to winning and doing so repeatedly. Sam Presti may already be ahead of the curve on this lesson given the changes he’s made this past season.

While the Thunder lost arguably two of the top 15 superstars of the current talent base they’ve defied the critics by winning and much of that has to do with the personalities and fit of this current iteration of the Thunder.