By Michael Kinney
OKLAHOMA CITY– Before the Oklahoma City Thunder took the court Sunday afternoon, they knew they had done their part. Facing a Dallas Mavericks squad that had decided to rest its starters, the Thunder knew they had a victory wrapped up before tip-off.
That proved to be the case as they rolled to an easy 135-86 win over the undermanned Mavericks. After scoring 82 points in the first half only one starter saw action in the second half.
However, even with that, the job of wrapping up the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference still wasn’t done. They needed a couple of other things to fall into place. Chief among them the Minnesota Timberwolves losing to the Phoenix Suns.
Kevin Durant did his former team a favor as he led the Suns past the Timberwolves to guarantee Oklahoma City the top seed in the West heading into the 2024 NBA Playoffs. By the time the Thunder got to the locker rooms, special t-shirts had been made and a small celebration was held for the accomplishment.
Even though the team has bigger goals, they took time to acknowledge what they had done in going from getting beat in last year’s play-in game to securing the top spot in the west with the league’s youngest roster.
“I think it’s kind of been said, just being as young as we are and just kind of securing the one seed. I think just kind of taking the time to reflect on the long season,” said Jalen Williams. “The season goes by fast and I think it’s easy to kind of forget the highs and lows of it. So, it was a good celebration of just reflecting on the good and the bad of the season and then just trying to enjoy that. Obviously, we’re going to have to get back to that mode of trying to win games and just treating it like a whole new season. So just kind of reflecting and enjoying each other’s presence for playing such a long season and being successful.”
Even though they tied with defending NBA champion Denver with a 57-25 record, they own the tiebreaker. Only the 64-win Bosten Celtics have a better record than Oklahoma City. The Thunder hadn’t finished as the top seed since the 2012-13 season.
While the Thunder do not know who they will face in their opening round series, they do know it will start at home in Oklahoma City this weekend at the Paycom Center.
Despite being the youngest team in the postseason, the Thunder don’t see that as a hindrance.
“Honestly, I don’t ever really think about it like that,” ShaiGilgeous-Alexander said. “I always just take it day by day. I always focus on me getting better as a player, as a leader, as a teammate, and every day, every game day. It’s about winning games for myself and for us for sure. And I think because we’ve done so in that way, we’re able to look up now and be proud of where we’re at, knowing there’s a lot more work to do. But yeah, I never really thought about it in that perspective.”
Gilgeous-Alexander is the only member of the last Oklahoma City squad that is still part of the franchise. (That doesn’t count losing in the play-in game last year.) When Game 1 rolls around, it will be a brand-new experience for the entire team and a long-awaited one for the fan base.
“It’s super, super surreal,” Gilgeous-Alexander. “It’s fun. Obviously, you play the win and it’s fun like that. But I think it goes back to us chipping away at it every day and not worrying about the past or the future and just chipping away and seeing where that gets us and us taking that mentality has allowed us to get here. So yeah, it feels good. Something to be proud about. We have a lot more work to do.”
Back when making the playing almost felt like a birthright for the franchise, Oklahoma City had one of the most dangerous home atmospheres in the NBA. It continually ranked as the loudest venue in the league.
We will find out soon if the Thunder fan base is still Loud City.
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