OKC Thunder: 3 steps to make 2020-21 season a success

No. 3:  Take a breath

Small back story, you guys are the reason I am a Thunder Fan. When I was young, like so many others, I loved Jordan and the Bulls. Then in the early 2000s, I went away from the NBA a bit and spent more time focusing on the NBL (National Basketball League) here in Australia.

I came back to the NBA around 2008 with no real allegiance to any team, and then I watched a game from a plucky new team in Oklahoma called the Thunder. They were young and raw, but they played with so much passion and heart. More than that it was the fans, I had never seen such a dedicated group of supportive, engaged fans than this. I was instantly hooked and the rest is history.

So I say this with all the respect in the world for you guys; please, please take a breath and let the season happen. We have given SGA the keys to the kingdom and that’s awesome. But let’s remember he is only 22 years old. I don’t know about anyone else but I barely had the ability to run my own life at 22, let alone lead an NBA franchise through its first rebuild.

More from Thunderous Intentions

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• 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

My point is this, the Canadian may struggle a bit, his numbers may not improve like everyone assumes they will. I have seen so many people trying to hand him the most improved player award before the season has begun, it’s a lot of pressure for a guy who couldn’t buy a drink at a bar in some locations until last year.

Players develop at different rates and heaping so much expectation on a player can do more harm than good. The same goes for Darius Bazley and Luguentz Dort. Bazley had a great end to the bubble and Dort had one amazing offensive outburst in the playoffs. Yet, let’s not go into this season expecting these youngsters to be high-end offensive weapons on a nightly basis.

These young players have so much on their plate professionally on top of the pandemic and all the social issues they are dealing with. It’s hard to even fathom how they’ve managed to keep a strong mental state for this upcoming condensed season.

As fans, all we can do is support them and cheer for them. To let them know, no matter what happens this year we are always going to stand until the first basket is made and that we will always be Thunder UP!