How the Thunder failed to win a title after drafting three MVPs in a row

On June 6 2012 the Oklahoma City Thunder eliminated the Spurs in Game six of the Western Conference Finals after falling behind two games to none the Thunder rallied on their home court and headed back to San Antonio tied 2-2 with a 103-101 lead and under 30 seconds to play in Game five James Harden drilled a dagger three to push the thunders lead to five OKC left the building with a 3-2 series lead in game six the Spurs led by as much as 18 but a huge third quarter from the Thunder including this lead grabbing three from Durant helped Oklahoma City set a date with LeBron James and the Miami Heat in the finals it was their first NBA Finals appearance since 1996 when they were known as a Seattle SuperSonics this 2012 okc squad was led here by a core of Kevin Durant Russell Westbrook Serge Ibaka and Sixth Man of the Year James Harden all under the age of 24 at the helm were the man that drafted these stars general manager Sam Presti and former coach of the year Scott Brooks but this trip to the finals began in Seattle back in 2007 when the SuperSonics drafted Kevin Durant second overall Durant went on to be named Rookie of the Year but the Sonics weren't done showcasing their eye for talent in 2008 they selected Russell Westbrook with the fourth pick and Serge Ibaka 24th via a pick they acquired from the Phoenix Suns but less than a week later the Sonics a beloved team in the Pacific Northwest packed their bags and headed to Oklahoma City adopting the name thunder on the way a 23 and 59 record in the first season in their new city landed them the third overall pick in the 2009 draft a draft in which the Thunder selected Arizona State guard James Harden in 2010 they locked up Durant with a 5-year 86 million-dollar extension in return he helped deliver the Thunder a 55 and 27 record and a four seed in the playoffs OKC then advanced to the Western Conference Finals before falling to a Mavs team that would go on to defeat LeBron and the Heat in the finals the following year the Thunder handed Westbrook a five-year extension of his own before securing a in the lockout-shortened 2011 2012 season behind Durant's third consecutive scoring title a thrilling playoff run put them within arm's reach of an NBA championship as the basketball world appeared to have its next dynasty coming together before its eyes the Thunder had home-court advantage and momentum as they entered a series against a Heat team that was proven to be vulnerable the year before could this young gun team delay King James his crown one more year No after taking Game one in Oklahoma City the Thunder fell silent as Miami's big three turned up the heat LeBron and company won four straight to give the city of Miami its second NBA championship the offseason became one of big decisions for GM Sam Presti as both Serge Ibaka and James Harden entered the final year of their rookie contracts in August Ibaka signed a four-year 48 million dollar extension casting a sudden shadow of doubt over OKC's ability to resize harden without diving headfirst into luxury tax hell what the Thunder didn't know was that a new TV deal was going to help the salary cap explode in a couple years providing a low for those luxury tax burns but with an inability to predict the future they did what they thought was right they offered harden a deal worth about five million dollars short of the max they asked their budding star who had already sacrificed a starting role to help the team to sacrifice a little bit more to help their bottom line harden understandably felt he had sacrificed enough already and with neither side budging Presti decided to flip him to the Rockets for a haul including Kevin Martin Jeremy Lamb and draft picks the max steel they couldn't afford to pay him worked out to about 16 million dollars a year essentially chump change compared to some of the contracts signed after the salary cap spiked but that's the tragedy of the situation as the stars began to align the timing was just a bit off or they blew it the choice is yours even without harden the Thunder dismantled the rest of the league on route to the western conference's best record becoming the fourth youngest roster ever to win 60 games a top seed in the conference set up a first-round playoff matchup against a familiar face the beard himself and his 8th seeded rockets it was the Rockets first playoff appearance since 2009 and it's all thanks to harden flourishing in his newly acquired starring role but as is customary in the first round the 1 seed prevailed as the Thunder close out the Rockets and six but the most consequential moment of the series came in Game two as a timeout was called in the second quarter rockets guard Patrick Beverley plunge at the ball connecting with Westbrook Snee in the process an MRI revealed a torn meniscus and surgery would sideline him indefinitely game 3 would be the first game Westbrook ever missed including college and high school he was sorely missed the following round as a rematch of the 2011 semi finals handedly Memphis Grizzlies an opportunity for revenge an opportunity they seized sending the Thunder packing in five games in the offseason one part of the harden trade left while another one was cashed in with the 12th pick in the 2013 draft Toronto's pick that they acquired from Houston OKC selected future all-rookie second team Center Stephen Adams then shortly after the draft Kevin Martin who proved not to be the scoring replacement for Harden the team at hoped was flipped to the Timberwolves via a sign-and-trade a second knee surgery prior to the start of the 13-14 season only costs Westbrook the first two games and after filling the Knicks stocking with a 29 point loss on Christmas Day the 23 and 5 Thunder looked primed for another title run but mere days later it was announced that Westbrook would undergo a third knee surgery sidelining him until late February in his absence Durant continue to do what Durant does dominate OKC finished with the second-best record in the NBA behind the Spurs and for his efforts Durant was named MVP but with the playoffs came another series against the grit and grind grizzlies this time in the first round in game 2 a Mike Miller 3 put Memphis up 2 with under a minute to play then down 5 with the shot clock turned off Durant hit a shocker to set up a four-point play a put back at the buzzer by Kendrick Perkins sent it to overtime it was the first of four straight games to head to OT but it was also the first of three of those games to end in favor of Memphis OKC found themselves facing elimination in Game six and came out swinging blowing out the Grizzlies in Memphis 104 to 84 in the midst of that frustrating loss Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph punched Steven Adams in the face wall in transition leading to a suspension for the pivotal Game seven a game in which the Thunder won handily behind westbrook's triple-double and Durant's 33 points the grind continued as OKC battled through six games with the Clippers they prevailed to set up a Western Conference Finals rematch with the Spurs but lost Ibaka in the process as a calf strain in game six would supposedly sideline him for the remainder of the playoffs the Thunder struggled mightily in his absence missing his defense while being routed in the first two games then much to everyone's surprise Ibaka returned for Game three bring with him new life to a Thunder team that managed to string together back-to-back wins but a game 5 loss put them on the brink of elimination with under 30 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of Game six Manu Ginobili drilled a three to give San Antonio a one-point lead Durant fell during the thunders ensuing possession putting the ball back into the hands of Ginobili who split two free throws and pushed their lead to 2 Westbrook would send it to OT with a couple of free throws but it was there that the Spurs would pull away oklahoma city's season ended short of the finals once again heartbreaking for Thunder fans of course but at least their core was perfectly healthy putting them in position to run it back in October prior to the start of the 2014-2015 season Kevin Durant was diagnosed with a Jones fracture in his foot he made his return in December but in February he underwent a procedure to relieve discomfort in his foot and on March 27th he was officially ruled out for the the season after electing to undergo another surgery Durant's absence along with Westbrook's missed time early in the season due to a fractured hand put OKC in a hole that they never recovered from the Thunder were on the outside looking in come playoff time finishing 9th in the Western Conference via a tiebreaker with the pelicans it was the first playoffs without the Thunder since 2009 and it cost head coach Scott Brooks his job in the words of Serge Ibaka why would you fire him what has he done Florida Gators head coach Billy Donovan was hired in his place and with their core back at full strength the team turned their focus to the future Durant and Westbrook went on a tear and helped push the team to 55 wins good enough for a three seed in the 2016 playoffs after knocking off the Mavs and five the Thunder once again met with the Spurs but this time it was OKC's turn to finish the series and six advancing to the Western Conference Finals it was there that they met the defending champion Golden State Warriors coming off a record-setting 73 and 9 regular season by beating the 95-96 Bulls record of 72 wins this Warriors team had a legitimate case to be remembered as the greatest team of all time but the Thunder were up to the task for a bit OKC handed Golden State their first home loss of the playoffs in Game one thanks to double doubles by four members of the Thunder starting lineup the Warriors bounced back in Game two but upon returning to Oklahoma City the Thunder trounced the Warriors in back-to-back games OKC was in possession of a commanding 3-1 series lead that had the greatest regular-season team in NBA history facing elimination determine not to be eliminated on their home court the Warriors extended the series with a win in Game five sending it back to Oklahoma City and giving the Thunder a chance to end it in front of their hometown fans but with five minutes remaining in the fourth warriors trailing by seven klay Thompson hit a three from way beyond the arc it was his NBA playoff record tenth three-pointer of the night cut the Thunder lead to for a three-pointer a minute later from the other splash bro Steph Curry cut the lead to one in the final minutes of the game the three-point barrage continued as curry hit again this time tying the game at 99 with the score locked at 101 Andre Iguodala stripped Westbrook leading to Thompson's 11th three-pointer of the game it gave the Warriors a lead they would retain to force a decisive Game seven OKC entered half of 48 42 in the do-or-die final game of the series but then the Warriors did what the Warriors do and dominated the third quarter holding the Thunder to only 12 points and securing a double-digit lead heading into the fourth Oklahoma City would never lead again as Golden State became the tenth team in NBA history to come back from a 3-1 deficit in the playoffs an absolutely crushing blow to the OKC fanbase the Warriors then went on to become the first team in NBA history to blow a 3-1 series lead in the finals falling to LeBron and the Cavs but they were about to get some major help on draft day the Thunder traded Serge Ibaka to the magic for a package that involved Victor Oladipo the plan was to give Kevin Durant who entered the offseason as a free agent additional scoring helped but the salary cap spike that would have alleviated the thunders contract woes had they given James Harden to max steel in 2012 also gave just about every other NBA team enough space to make a run at signing Durant the winner of the KD sweepstakes the team that signed one of the greatest scorers of all time in his prime was a team that already had two of the greatest if not the two greatest shooters of all time and holders of a record 73 win season the Golden State Warriors it was a decision that sent shockwaves throughout the NBA world and especially through the Oklahoma City team and fan base the prevailing thought after Durant's decision was that Westbrook would not sign an extension and would instead play out the final year of his contract but Westbrook inked a 3-year deal in August stating there's nowhere else I'd rather be than Oklahoma City and adding loyalty is something that I stand by when asked why he decided to sign the extension now rather than at the end of the season he replied there's no need to wait if you know where you want to be thus began what has been dubbed Westbrook's revenge tour his 42 triple-doubles in the 2016-2017 season overtook Oscar Robertson's record of 41 set in 1962 and made him the first player since Robertson to average a triple-double for the season the MVP race that year came down to two players Westbrook and his former teammate James Harden in the end Westbrook received the crown but the real battle between the two came in the first round of the playoffs it was the second time Harden and the Rockets faced off against his old team in the postseason but this time it was Houston that would advance the Rockets eliminated the Thunder in five games making it clear that Westbrook couldn't do it alone as for Kevin Durant he was named Finals MVP as he finally became a champion in the offseason the thunder made two huge moves the first came in July when they traded a package including Victor Oladipo for Pacers superstar Paul George the second came in September when Westbrook signed a five-year Supermax deal worth over two hundred million dollars cementing his place in a Thunder uniform they also traded for former all-star Carmelo Anthony which would have been a bigger deal if it worked out Anthony never really fit in and it started a game of hot potato as he bounced around the league but Melo stayed with the team for the duration of the year a year in which Westbrook and George proved to be a formidable duo just not good enough to get out of the first round of the playoffs but even as Durant collected his second NBA championship and James Harden became the third member of the 2012 Thunder to be named MVP OKC appeared to be on the verge of great things of their own despite speculation for years that George had a desire to play in LA he resigned with OKC stating I'm here to stay Paul George was there to stay committed to the Thunder for four years shortly after resigning George they sent Anthony to the Hawks where he would play no games for them on April 10th the final regular season game of the 2018-2019 season Russell Westbrook tied Magic Johnson for second on the career triple-double list with his 138 OKC won that game locking in the six seed in the playoffs in the first round the Thunder matched up against Portland and fell behind three games to one they put up a fight in an attempt to stave off elimination in Game five but with the game tied at 115 Damian Lillard decided to mark his chapter in basketball or with a game-winner in Paul George's face Lillard ended OKC's season and then waved goodbye which was fitting because a few months later Paul George requested a trade to the Clippers in order to join forces with Kawhi Leonard in LA in the wake of George's departure Westbrook asked for a trade as well in an attempt to do right by him Oklahoma City found a trade partner high in Westbrook's list on July 11th Russell Westbrook was reunited with an old friend when he was traded to the Houston Rockets for Chris Paul and a backpack full of draft picks Sam Presti without the benefit of a number one pick drafted three future MVPs in three consecutive drafts it's the beginning of what should be a story of historic triumph a meticulously crafted master plan for basketball dominance but in the end it was all just a stack of paper in the wind as fans and front office alike reached out to the pieces of success floating around them there was nothing they could do but watch it all disappear over the horizon thanks for watching this episode of collapse if you liked it go watch the other ones if you didn't go watch the other ones and stay tuned for future episodes thanks [Music]

Channel: Secret Base

Views: 2,447,525

Rating: 4.918788 out of 5

Keywords: nba, oklahoma city thunder, kevin durant, nba finals, sb nation, thunder finals, thunder heat finals, russell westbrook, james harden, okc, okc 2012, 2012 thunder, thunder playoffs, scott brooks, billy donovan, westbrook revenge tour, thunder big 3, thunder big 4, serge ibaka, thunder 3-1 lead, thunder blows 3-1 lead, thunder blows, thunder warriors, thunder warriors game 7, steph curry, klay thompson 2016, sports, okc thunder, seattle supersonics, warriors blow 3-1 lead

Id: jvRY730Xmb0

Length: 16min 57sec (1017 seconds)

Published: Sat Aug 10 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/[deleted]]

Ah shit, here we go again...

• Thunder fans

[u/Ramzaa_]

2012: Too young

2013: Injuries

2014: Injuries

2015: Injuries

2016: Choked 3-1 lead in WCF

The end. I'd like to point out that the two years we didnt have any significant injuries we made the finals and were 1 game from the finals. Sure you can say we wasted a lot of talent. But I'd argue it's much more due to the terrible injury luck we had.

[u/Super-Duper-Nintendo]

I’m a fan of SB Nation’s “Collapse” series, was waiting for this one to come out!

[u/Adventurous_Caramel]

Thunder fans: we cry everytime

[u/eroddyrod]

Drafting 3 MVPs and Serge Ibaka in 3 years is insanity.

[u/slowbaja]

Seattle is beating its dick so hard that their leg is going numb.

[u/falloutranger]

Like the NBA equivalent of the 90s-early 2000s Mariners.

Poetic.

[u/Get_Slapped]

Solid video given the length, I feel like the Thunder franchise will probably get a 30 for 30. Maybe they do one after they finish the one on the Clippers.

[u/StKd0t]

Cheaped out by trading Harden, left KD with awful spacing for years and KD bounces, Westbrook can't get out of the 1st round and PG ditches him, Presti gets bailed out of the Westbrook contract by trading him under the guise of "doing right by him"