In game 5 of the NBA Finals America saw 2 spectacular things. First, LeBron James, for better or worse, won a finals MVP. We saw a NBA playoffs where the most gifted basketball player since Wilt Chamberlain finally put his mental demons to rest. Make no mistake, the LeBron James the country saw has finally taken himself out of the “should be” top 5 into the eventual top 5. Second, we saw a team become dynasty ready.
But I am not talking about the Miami Heat.
A case study into the ethos of the Oklahoma City Thunder would show that humility (Kevin Durant), pride (Russell Westbrook), and hard work (James Harden) exists in this team’s blueprint, as exemplified in their star players. This team, with its sub 30 win season a few short years ago, has shown several signs of growth in terms of maturity and win percentage.
With this growth happening right in front of our eyes, led by the humble Durant, the Thunder quickly became media darlings. The quotes streaming out of their camp had been a perfect. It doesn’t get any better than “We didn’t see it as losing, but learning how to win.” They also have a rabid fan base, reminiscent of Sacramento’s Arco Arena of the 2000’s. Very active, very loud, and very in tune to the game, creating some of the best In-Arena basketball a home team can play in. They have fed into the team, and since every game has been sold out, win or loss, good or bad, this team has gotten a confidence boost.
This team has been fun to watch. We saw them build from that scrappy young upstart, pushing the Lakers in 2010. They went head to head with the Mavericks in 2011, and in 2012, beat the San Antonio Spurs, as well as the aforementioned Mavericks and Lakers on the way to the finals. In a way, they were showing us that we were underdogs no longer.
What they didn’t have, was a loss that would leave that lump in their chest. Even though they lost to those teams in 2010 and 2011, they were seen as underdogs. They were never the main draw. The media coddled them a bit, and each loss was a little easier to swallow because we were looking to the future, what needed to come.
This year, we expected the best out of them. They came into the year saddled with expectations in a year that worked better in their favor. They were still young. They had a tight schedule. They also had a deep team build around young role players and a great blueprint. This is the first year the NBA expected them to act like champions. They didn’t disappoint, but when running into this Miami Heat team, a team that figured it out, they just couldn’t handle it. To be fair, the heat, with LeBron finally taking a lead role, would be tough to anyone to beat, but I would wage it to be a team that cannot sustain itself for a long time.
For all the pomp and circumstance that surrounded this team coming into the Finals (Many in the sports media crowned them before a game was played), they didn’t have a crushing loss that took the wind out of them. That broke them down. Watching Durant and his team cry was powerful. It showed the Oklahoma City Thunder finally got the loss they needed to push them into great team status. They are kids no longer.
From the desk of Adam Thomas 