Should I Root For Your Team?

I really shouldn’t be cheering for this team being a Longhorn (cheering on an Oklahoma team, blasphemy I know), but this is a good organization. Run by smart, good people and and the guys all have their heads screwed on straight. Never heard of anything bad spoken about any of the players. Kevin Durant embodies this team, a class act and unlimited potential. Great fans too (Btw, I really respect OU and their fans)

And if you’ve never really gotten into the NBA before then Thunder is a very good team to watch play. Absolutely explosive and plays with such heart. Just a lil something, as a Laker fan I know for a fact some 90% of the Laker fans probably list the Thunder as their 2nd favorite and most excited to watch in the future. Aside from the Celtics, no team has made the Lakers work as hard as they did during the playoffs. Every Laker fan discovered this new found respect, and literally ALL list the Thunder as their most feared opponent in the future out of the West.

but to me, the best thing about this team is that they are a true “team.” When you watch them play, you can see the camraderie. They like each other. It’s not just a collection of overpaid players wearing the same uniform.

can tell you it has been a lot of fun to watch this team grow. Get on the train now before they are on top!

1. solid ownership/management. – Try to pretend Clay Bennett doesn’t exist. I think several OKC fans are not fond of Bennett for the way he handled the Sonics relocation. Then again we can’t complain too much since we do have a team. I’ve heard Bennett attends every game, but I’ve hardly seen him. Bennett is not a publicity hound like Mark Cuban, so I guess that is nice.

Presti is the man, straight up. Related Reading:

The Genius of Sam Presti
Sam Presti has turned spare parts into the league’s best young team
In Sam We Trust
Sam Presti’s top five trades

2. a lack of championship tradition – You’ve already covered that.

3. likable young star/core who was committed to staying put – So, you know about KD’s loyalty. Did you know he drives a minivan? You’ll love Harden who is a goofball in his own right. Speaking of goofballs, let me introduce the Broingtons…

Say Ahh
Transform Ya

Here are a few more cool vids…

Dime TV
From A Rumble to a Roar

4. Fill in the blanks for me…

Russell Westbrook PG/SG – A surprise pick in the 2008 draft and my favorite player personally. He was bashed his 1st year and half in the league because people didn’t think he was a legit PG. Amazingly quick, but still learning the finer aspects of playing the 1 guard. Russell is an amazing leaper who often outfights bigger guys for rebounds. Over the past year Russ has developed a nice penetrate and pop mid-range shot. His biggest weakness is his perimeter shooting.

Thabo Sefolosha SG/SF – A mid-season acquisition in 2008-09 from the Bulls. Thabo is the lockdown defender of the team. He is from Switzerland and plays on their national team. Thabo is fluent in a couple of languages two of them being French and English. Thabo lacks a consistent offensive game, but does drive to the basket well at times. Like Westbrook Thabo is also a nice rebounder for his position. If I remember correctly, Thabo and Russ lead all starting guard in rebounds last year.

KD SF – I feel you probably know plenty already, so I’ll keep this short. KD has a nice rip move that he uses when opponents are reaching in. This gets him to the foul line once or twice a game. He dribbles well for his size, but doesn’t penetrate well when being defended by smaller guards.

Jeff Green SF/PF – An athletic undersized PF. Many blog commenters believe he is the weakest link of our starting lineup. Personally, I like Green. He is more quicker than most 4’s and is stronger than most people believe. Green’s shooting is inconsistent, but he seems to finish well near the rim. He saved our tails a few times last season.

Nenad Krstic C – A 7-footer that doesn’t rebound well. Or block exceptionally well either. His claim to fame is his mid-range pick and pop. Aldrich should relieve Nenad of his starting duties next season.

Eric Maynor PG – A rookie last year and a solid back up for Westbrook. Maynor has a nice teardrop shot. If I’m not mistaken Maynor had a great (if not the best) Turnover Assist ratio last year among PG’s.

James Harden SG/SF – Also a rookie last year. At the beginning of the season Harden passed the ball very well. So James definitely has the ability to create for others, but he can create for himself as well. He often penetrates looking for fouls or tries to knock down 3’s. He has been compared to Paul Pierce and Manu Ginobli. James is a lefty.

Serge Ibaka PF/C – Extremely athletic defensive big man. Ibaka can jump. In fact he won a slam dunk contest in Spain by jumping from the free throw line. Serge is a great weak side defender who is always looking to block shots. He was also a rookie last year and quickly became a fan favorite.

Ibaka is from the Congo. Even though his parents were both basketball players, his game is still a little raw. Serge played in France and Spain before coming to the US last year. He is also multilingual. Serge can speak Spanish, French, and his newest language English.

Nick Collison PF/C – The longest tenured member of this team, and the only player that Presti has kept since taking over as GM in 2007. Collison is a glue guy that fights for every rebound. He is also the best Twitter of the group.

Cole Aldrich and Daequan Cook are new additions. Cole was the defensive linchpin for Kansas over the past few years.
Cook has been known to knock down some shots, he might be able to crack the roster if that is true.

German center Tibor Pleiss is also a recent draftee. Expect him to come stateside in a year or two.

Hope that helps
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Added to the front page since we seem to be getting new fans, perhaps this will help the newbies.

OKC is legit, I love watching them when the blazers aren’t playing and if you need any convinving at all to root for this excellent organization just watch the 1st round of the playoffs. That was probably my favorite series of the year so freakin awesome!

but the Thunder is a team that i like very much. The whole organisation reminds me a lot of the mid/end-90s Spurs, which i liked too. Lots of very likeable player on the team, you see that this team is build to develop a certain chemistry.

I wouldn’t say i’m rooting for OKC, but i definately wish them all the best in the western conference.

I love what I’m hearing from you all, so thanks for the great feed back. I really wasn’t expecting fans from other teams, especially such good ones – I counted the Lakers, Blazers and Bulls – to vouch for the Thunder! What I’ve most liked have been two key phrases: they’re a true team and they’re fun to watch. Couple that with everything else and how can I not join this apparently vibrant, growing fanbase! Expect to see me around here plenty now, everyone, and thanks for welcoming me like this! Go Thunder!

…but I’ve dabbled in liking the Thunder. The Bulls brought me back in when they decided to really go for the 2010 plan. When it failed, as I often thought it would, I’ve become a free agent of sorts, too. The Bulls are now looking to simply be an above-average team without paying the luxury tax and ever trying to be a really great team.

That said, I am worried about two things with the Thunder: 1) over-valuing Jeff Green and 2) ownership paying up. If the second is shown to be false, then the first becomes irrelevant. If the Thunder spend like a big-market, LA/Boston type club, having Green as an overpaid tweener backup doesn’t really matter. If, however, they are going to be stingy and tight with future signings of Westbrook and Harden, then they can’t overpay Jeff Green, who should ideally be a backup.

I think Westbrook (Maynor) Harden (Sefo) Durant (Sefo) could be an absolutely fearsome fivesome in just another year or two. I think Harden is going to be amazing.

On the other hand, Sacramento has really started to intrigue me. Evans is a true star, although I don’t think he’ll be as good as Durant. Maybe a better Derrick Rose. Casspi and Greene provide an awesome SF combo while Landry and Thompson are stud power forwards. Cousins will be the real deal and Whiteside is going to be an amazing PF/C back up immediately.

The difference, however, is that I have no qualms about the willingness of the Maloofs to pay for their future players for a few reasons:
A) They don’t have to right now, they have a couple of years
B) They’ve done it in the past
C) They are super-fans and want, seemingly more than anything, to have a winning team (they are an affable Mark Cuban)
D) Whenever the recession starts to wane, they will be raking in the dough again.
E) Sacramento has a long proven track record of fanship.
(none of these things are supposed to be specific counterpoints to the Thunder ownership)

The biggest drawback, of course, is that the Kings haven’t proven anything yet. The Thunder are already really damn good, so you’re sort of getting in on an already moving bandwagon, but it’s also more of a sure thing (I also love Ibaka and Cole Aldrich for this team). If you want that, you’re in the right place. If you want to get in on the ground floor (so to speak), though, the Kings are the team to love.

Seeing as I jumped on the Thunder bandwagon the minute they drafted Harden and extended Thabo, I’m really torn.

I moved to Kansas City and decided to “adopt” a regional home team. What better team than the Thunder? The above posters are right: it’s time to get on the train now before you’re called a front-runner.

who has dabbled in warrior fandom… but i’d say this team, is really just electrifying! if i had to start over, i would move to seattle to be born, then move to oklahoma city in kevin durant’s freshman year of college. then i’d watch the drama unfold, and it would be such a wonderful ride.

this team is going places.

But the thunder are probably my 2nd or 3rd favorite. I am very anti-bandwagon people, you should always stick with your teams through thick and thin in my opinion. Suns are an old team with lots of close calls for championships but none yet, and a fun team to watch. The thunder are great too, and you could definately do a lot worse than root for them. Good luck this year!

Magic Fan here- Love what OKC has done over the past couple of years and honestly there’s no other team in the west- I root for more than the Thunder.

Knicks are my NBA team but Ive been following the Thunder since they drafted Durantula
then they drafted my fav college player again in UCLA Russell Westbrook
since then Ive followed the Thunder and just discovered this site
Im a Knicks and Thunder fan maybe all the way Thunder since Issiah Thomas is a Knick again
just dont jump on the Heat wagon
if liking the Thunder is being a bandwagon fan then I dont think thats true
becoming a Heat fan is becoming a gloryrider for sure imo
LETS GET IT THUNDER!
WESTBROOK FOR PREZ

Before you make a decision check out the Sonicsgate movie, and decide for yourself if you want to get into bed with a soulless slimeball like Clay Bennett. The people of Seattle were nothing but loyal to this franchise, but Fat Cat machinations conspired to move the team, for various selfish reasons.

If you have any moral center, you would steer clear of this franchise, and find one less evil.