Story & Photos
By Michael Kinney
Back in 2012, Matt Westphalen could feel it in his bones. As a member of the Oklahoma City Storm Chasers, he used to walk along the catwalk in the rafters of the Chesapeake Arena to perform the parachute t-shirt drop.
Standing some 90 feet above ground, Westphalen could feel the energy that reverberated from the fans during the Oklahoma City Thunder’s postseason run to the NBA Finals.
“It was so loud that the catwalk was shaking,” said Westphalen. “I was up on the catwalk for a few minutes waiting for the timeout so I could drop the parachutes. It was an amazing, adrenaline-filled moment that I will never forget.”
During that 2012 campaign, the Chesapeake Arena was consistently called the loudest and energetic venue in the NBA. It was often compared to a college atmosphere and seen as a definite home-court advantage as they racked up the second-best home record in the league.
“It was very loud at that time,” said Matt Stuart, a lawyer in Oklahoma City. “Also, the newness of it all was just amazing. I mean, everything was fresh. Just an amazing experience. Just an amazing experience at that time. It was one of those things we never thought was going to end.”
Yet, longtime fans of the franchise now believe that this year’s version has surpassed that 2012 season in terms of just how frenzied and energized the games can get.
The 2012 title run came just five years after the franchise had moved from Seattle to Oklahoma City. The fans had been gifted a series of great draft picks in Kevin Durant (who played one year with the Sonics), Russell Westbrook and James Harden.
For a state that never had an NBA team before, that first incarnation of the Thunder made it seem like getting great players and going deep into the playoffs was the norm. That included believing they were going to beat the Miami Heat for the NBA Championship in their first-ever appearance.
“We thought we were going to win it all that year,” Stuart said. “We came up a little short, but still, just a great experience.”
Yet, both Stuart and Westphalen said one of the biggest differences between then and this 2025 run is not only the level of knowledge the fans have obtained, but also the heartbreak they have had to endure.
Unlike in 2012 when the Thunder fan base had been raised on living and dying with the success of the Sooners and Cowboys, this generation has seen future hall of famers leave for other organizations, playoff collapses, Dame Time and even not making the playoffs at all.
Those who stuck with the team during the hard times are now the ones pushing the decibel meter on the jumbotron to 107 and 108.
“When they first got here, nobody knew what to do or how to feel,” said Westphalen, who now attends games as a fan carrying a large, plastic Thor hammer. “It was a brand-new team and it was brand new having an NBA team here. It was almost exciting just to be there. Like ‘Oh my gosh, we’re watching NBA basketball in Oklahoma. And now it’s ‘Look at our baby. It’s all grown up.’ It’s amazing.”
Stuart has watched Oklahoma transform from a market in which the main meal was football and the NBA was an optional side dish to where the two sports are neck and neck when it comes to fan enthusiasm. That is something no one would have imagined in 2007.
“We’re in year 17 of having an NBA team here,” Stuart said. “We’ve had some people grow up with this team now. I think that makes a huge difference. When they first got here, we may have seen a preseason game here on occasion. You know, everything was outside looking in at other cities. But having that experience over the last decade and a half has really impacted the knowledge of basketball in the city.”
In the same way, the 2012 squad used the fans’ intensity to record one of the best records in the league; this year’s team has done the same. The players have even come to expect the Thunder Nation to help carry them through the finish line.
“It feels amazing,” Chet Holmgren said. “It’s like having a sixth player out there sometimes. The only time it hurts is when you’re trying to communicate and everybody understands like you never want to see one of your teammates get blindsided by a screen or something but when we get to the timeouts we’re talking and we’re like I’m trying to talk to you but it’s loud and they understand. That’s the only disadvantage I’d say, but the other team has to deal with that too.”
The memory of Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals against Minnesota was still fresh in Holmgren’s head when he was asked what the loudest game he could remember. He called the experience deafening.
“It’s a great advantage to have, and we have the best fans in the world,” Holmgren continued. “I can’t think of any sport, any arena, any team that has better fans than we do so we appreciate them and I look forward to the atmosphere going forward.”
Oklahoma City will have home-court advantage when the NBA Finals start June 5. The first two games of the seven-game series with the Indiana Pacers will be held at the Paycom Center, which hasn’t picked up an imposing nickname yet.
After having the best record in the NBA, the league MVP and leading scorer (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander), everything is once again pointing for them to bring home the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy for the first time.
For Stuart, who has been waiting for this moment since watching the team lose in 2012, he plans to do his part to ensure the Thunder is the last team standing. Like the other 18,000 fans who will be on hand each night, it just means more this time around.
“It would be the greatest thing ever,” Stuart said. “I won’t say what I said to my friends. No, I’m going to go ahead and say it. It’s going to be better than my wedding day if we win it. It’s going to be better than the birth of my children if we win.”
That is the atmosphere the Pacers are walking into Thursday.
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