The Future is Now for the Oklahoma City Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder, once perpetually rebuilding, are now one of the top teams in the West, led by young stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren
On the night of July 5th, 2019 I went with my friend Drew to a hip hop show that featured Detroit rapper Elzhi. It was one of the longer shows I’ve been to, with a large collection of rappers performing well past midnight. This show is one that I will always remember because it was the only time that I was at a live show and NBA news broke. Because the early hours of that morning was when the Los Angeles Clippers struck a deal to acquire Paul George , which led to the acquisition of Kawhi Leonard and formed the current era of Clippers basketball, for better or worse.
I remember talking about the trade with Drew immediately after the show, and we were both excited at what the Clippers were able to accomplish. But what we didn’t account for in the immediate aftermath is what the Clippers were giving up in point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The young guard from Kentucky went to Oklahoma City and has developed into a true superstar in the NBA 4 years later. And the Thunder as a result, appear to be the next great team in the Western Conference. After years of stockpiling assets it seems that the time is finally now in Oklahoma City.
