The OKC Thunder moved from Seattle in 2008, and since then, fans have been lucky to see one of the best organizations in basketball year in and year out. Even with last year’s poor showing, the Oklahoma City Thunder have the second-best winning percentage in the NBA since 2010 and are the seventh most winning team in professional US sports in that time.
The Thunder have ripped off a run of 10 straight years of being .500 or better during their time in Bricktown, two MVP winners since 2008, the only team with that on their resume is the L.A. Lakers. Six of the ten years from 2010-20 the Thunder had the league’s scoring champ and were one of three small-market teams to win their conference during that run.
OKC Thunder well represented on NBA Top 75 list
The NBA celebrates its 75th anniversary this season, and while the OKC Thunder have only been around since 2008, they still saw five former players crack that list of all-time greats. A feat that many fanbases have not and will not even come close to, the Thunder fanbase saw it right out of the gate.
The Top 75 players of all time of course saw controversy and are sparking Twitter debates as we speak. All season long, this will be a hot button topic for hoop heads everywhere. One thing that can not be disputed from the list is the five Oklahoma City Thunder alumni that see their names on the ledger.
Kevin Durant, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony, and Bricktown’s first star Chris Paul all put their names with the elites this season with this special honor.
Chris Paul, who had two stints in OKC first with the Hornets then with the Thunder, will also be remembered for one of the most improbable seasons in basketball history and helping navigate the league during a global pandemic while dawning a Thunder jersey.
Not much needs to be said about the inclusion of the historic Russell Westbrook who spent years averaging a triple-double a feat no one thought possible in the modern NBA or Kevin Durant who is one of the most unique scorers we have ever seen.
James Harden’s flourish truly came in Houston, though it was clear in OKC he would be something special, Carmelo Anthony was past his prime but was one of the first legitimate NBA stars with New York taste to elect to come to little ole Oklahoma on his own free will, and Chris Paul resurrected his career in OKC before taking the Suns to the finals in his first conference championship win of his career.
Who is your favorite of the five OKC Thunder players named to the NBA Top 75, and who was snubbed from the list in general?