After an exceptional 2023-24 campaign, where they finished first in the Western Conference standings, the Oklahoma City Thunder were expected to ascend to being title contenders this season. And they haven’t disappointed. They are 20-5 and sit two and a half games clear at the top of the stacked West. They thrashed the Rockets 111-96 to book their berth in the NBA Cup final, where they’ll face the Bucks. Their stellar start to the season has prompted some to declare them as the best roster in OKC history. However, Gilbert Arenas disagrees.
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On Gil’s Arena, Brandon Jennings and Nick Young agreed that the current Thunder team was better than the 2011-12 roster that made it to the NBA Finals. Arenas quickly chimed in and dismissed that suggestion. He proceeded to explain why the current team is having an incredible campaign, saying,
“If Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander]’s not having a good game, can Jalen Williams carry [the team]? The benefit to them is their star player plays. They are playing [79 to 82] games as a unit. That’s something that people don’t factor in… I like the group. They can get to the Finals.”
Arenas’ explanation prompted Young to take a U-turn. He said,
“I don’t think this team is better than the KD team. You drop that team in this league, they win three championships.”
His quick change of heart was prompted by him remembering that the 2011-12 OKC team boasted three future MVPs.
The 2011-12 OKC team was incredible
Like the current roster, that team was young and full of promise. And like today’s team has an MVP contender in Gilgeous-Alexander as its leader, that team also had one in Kevin Durant. The forward was only 23 but the oldest and the leader of the team’s incredible trio that featured him, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden.
Durant led that roster by example. He averaged 28 points, eight rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.3 steals. They won 47 of 66 games in the lockdown-shortened season, good for second in the Western Conference standings. Their reward for a magnificent season was one of the hardest playoff runs a team as young as they could face.
In the first round, they faced reigning champions Mavericks, who were armed with a slew of veterans. However, Durant and the Thunder made light work of them. They swept them 4-0 and advanced to the second round, where they met Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.
Durant, Westbrook, and Harden idolized the five-time NBA champion. But that didn’t prompt them to show any mercy. They won the series 4-1 and advanced to the Western Conference Finals, where the Spurs awaited them.
Their three regular season meeting were decided by four total points. But the series wasn’t as close. OKC beat them 4-2 and advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. The young, energetic roster was touted as slight favorites to win the championship.
But taking down the league’s final boss, LeBron James, and his stacked Heat team was a bridge too far. They lost the series 4-1, a disappointing end to an exceptional season. The trio would never get a chance to run it back as Harden le
