Thunder fanatic Thomas Snowdon assesses the 2021-22 season and then casts an eye ahead to the 2022-23 campaign for OKC.
Where my love for the NBA and the Thunder came from…
I first got into the league the same way as I know a lot of people do in the UK and that’s through playing NBA 2K. I got into the game and decided to watch a random game one night live that did not involve any of the “big” teams at the time. That game came to be the Oklahoma City Thunder vs Orlando Magic in Orlando on March 30 2017. I watched this game purely as a neutral with the plan of supporting whoever wins, but that plan did not survive long in my head as I was lucky enough to witness Russell Westbrook have arguably one of his best games with 57 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists as the Thunder won in overtime. What a memory and game it is to always look back on.
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Ever since that moment I was hooked not only on the NBA, but the Oklahoma City Thunder. A couple of great years supporting the team later, I wanted to interact with more Thunder fans as well as basketball fans. That’s where I came across the incredible NBA UK community on Twitter which has constantly grown and evolved in the time I’ve been in it. Upon entering that community, I noticed there wasn’t an OKC Thunder UK fan page. A year later, the page I created was doing much better than expected as I gave all I could to it and later rebranded the page to OKC UK (find us now @_OKCUK on Twitter). Along with that came the start of the Thundermentals podcast (available on all platforms) which also took off with some great guests like journalists in OKC, other top-tier Thunder accounts on Twitter and most recently a recent Thunder player itself in Isaiah Roby. We really took off and I could not be more thankful to the Thunder fans and my contributors for joining the ride.
My favourite players
Image: Russell Westbrook won the NBA MVP award in 2017, after becoming only the second player in NBA history to average a triple-double for a season, along with Oscar Robertson in 1962
All-time: Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka; current: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Darius Bazley.
Russ for any Thunder fan just does not need explaining. Pure passion, talent and aggression comes to mind thinking of him, what’s not to love about that? Serge was an unreal defender, a real top talent who is still adored in OKC for his time with us.
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Shai is extraordinary and criminally underrated by the rest of the league’s fanbases. Fans need to realise how good this guy is going to be, having already been a borderline All-Star the past two seasons. Bazley is one for the fanbase, you either love him or hate him. I absolutely love the guy and adore his game. He’s already the second-best defender on our team and if that shot does develops, then man… he’s got his best years ahead!
Grade for last season: A
For a team currently in a rebuild, it was a great season. Minutes were given to the correct guys who were given a platform to improve their games. Everybody improved in one way or another. Shai’s shot and step-backs came on leaps and bounds, and Luguentz Dort’s shot came out of nowhere to already add to his sterling defensive work. Josh Giddey proved to be an absolute steal with the No 6 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. Given we have only seen one year of him, we are all pumped to see more.
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Tre Mann is another explosive player picked up in the 2021 Draft that excites us all. His emergence along with Jeremiah Robinson-Earl gave plenty for us fans to get behind during this rebuild. I hope the team worked on their perimeter defense over the offseason, we were way too vulnerable and at times, completely unable to answer back. That could make a difference this year!
Assessing the offseason for the Thunder
Image: Sam Presti, Oklahoma City Thunder executive vice president and general manager, speaks to the media during a press conference
Not a lot needed sorting apart from a few new contracts given to deserving players. Shai signed his max five-year $180m deal towards the end of the season. It was a huge step in seeing a playing of SGA’s calibre wanting to hang around in a smaller market compared to other franchises. Lu Dort and Kenrich Williams (nicknamed Kenny Hustle for constantly working his backside off) were arguably on the best contracts in the league at $1.5 and $2m a year each. They both got their deserved extensions and pay rise along with fan favourite Mike Muscala resigning for another two years.
In my opinion, Sam Presti is one of the best GMs in the league, if not the best! He knows this franchise inside and out and knows exactly what the team needs both on and off court. The only work the team needed to do was draft well and that was achieved easily. Also, an added bonus seeing plenty of the players on their socials playing ball and trying to improve more during their own time off!
Points of note from the 2022 NBA Draft
Image: Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren in action during NBA Summer League prior to picking up an injury which will keep him out of the entire 2022-23 season
CHET, CHET HOLMGREN! The Thunder have been smashing it the past couple of years with their seemingly infinite number of draft picks! This year, the draft lottery blessed us with the No 2 pick and along came Chet. Exactly the player and position this rebuild has cried out for. I’m incredibly excited to watch his game and gutted that he’s picked up such a serious injury so soon. Hopefully when we see him on court he lives up to the excitement.
I’m also a huge fan of Jalen Williams who I see as another impact player similar to Tre Mann. The 2022 Draft, which also saw Jaylin Williams and Ousmane Dieng get drafted by the Thunder, gets huge praise from everyone connected to the franchise. Trust the Presti.
The Thunder’s aims for next season
We are placed well but I’m incredibly torn on what I want next season. I would love the team to be competitive every night, that’s a given, but I do think we have a team good enough to challenge for a play-in spot, especially with the never-give-up attitude the Thunder franchise embraces. But there’s another element to consider by the name of Victor Wembanyama – who absolutely wowed in his performance on Tuesday night – entering the 2023 NBA Draft and exciting the whole league, could one more season in a proper rebuild hurt these young players?
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Three predictions for the season ahead…
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will be first time All-Star this season
- Josh Giddey will be a candidate for the NBA Most Improved Player award
- The Thunder will be one of the most watchable teams in the league!
Why should people watch the Thunder?
As suggested above! It would be much shorter to tell you why you should not watch! The Thunder franchise is cooking something extraordinary. A whole team with an average age of 23.5 years old last season, there are plenty of exciting times ahead of us! The way these players play, get along, support each other and strive to be the best they can be just enters your mind so easily and constantly has you wanting more and more.
Sourse: skysports.com
