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

Stick with the current culture and identity:

Although Phil Jackson’s offensive commitment to the triangle system is synonymous with the club it wasn’t the key identity of the Bulls.

Rather, the Bulls defense was their calling card. NBA advanced stats don’t extend back before the 1996-97 season for net differential but between this site and Basketball-Reference, we learn the Bulls were never outside the top 10 in offensive or defensive ranking in their championship seasons.

Another common denominator was the trio of MJ, Pippen, and Jackson who formed the core triad of success and offered constancy to the club.

Certainly, the leadership of Jordan was paramount but having Scottie and Phil with him was intrinsic to their identity. In fact, MJ’s commitment to continual improvement and growing his fundamental skills is a sneaky hidden x-factor in the team’s success.

Likewise, practices were taken almost more seriously than games and speak to the mindset of this team and how they developed a winning culture.

For the OKC Thunder, several of those components exist with the team’s penchant for drafting and trading for defensively sound players.

Even though the Thunder underwent drastic changes this offseason they retained a top 10 ranked defense and were improving monthly (they ranked sixth in March games prior to the suspension).

Leadership is also a vital part of the Thunder with players accepting and buying into their roles equally important to the team’s success. Plus, this season possibly more than ever has driven home the ‘no quit’ nature of the club.

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That might not seem like an important factor but it’s essential to success. Of the 30 teams in the association, the ones with the clear identities and cultures are primarily the seeded clubs. Dive a little deeper and the clubs who consistently sit in the upper echelon have clearly defined identities and strong franchise culture.

Although the OKC Thunder never fully recognized their goal of grabbing Larry O’B or hoisting that championship banner a decade of postseason trips versus two lottery visits is something the franchise should be extremely proud of.

As the club moves past the Durant – Westbrook era into the next chapter featuring Shai Gilgeous-Alexander there will be growing pains. But, given the strong culture and clutch established identity of the Thunder, they are poised to enter the future with optimism.

Avoiding the mistakes while adopting the positive lessons from the Jordan era Bulls would behoove the franchise as they set their sights on sustained excellence.