Boasting two distinct eras of dominance, Oklahoma City matches Golden State’s dynastic consistency by transforming a small-market rebuild into a recurring powerhouse on the NBA’s biggest stage.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are headed to the Western Conference Finals.
It's an incredible feat. One to be celebrated. Not to be taken for granted. However inevitable it may have felt, being one of the final two teams standing in a stacked conference is a tough proposition.
But here's the crazy thing: it's becoming a bit of a routine for the Thunder.
Oklahoma City has now made a Western Conference Finals appearance six times despite only existing as a franchise for 18 seasons. Some quick 3rd grade math tells us that equates to one third of OKC professional hoops' existence. Even more incredible is that the Thunder have gone to 6 West Finals over the past 16 seasons. Taking out the calculator again, that means Oklahoma City has been a final four team in 37.5% of the past 16 seasons.
OKC is tied with the Golden State Warriors for the most appearances in the Western Conference Finals over that time period. So only the Thunder and the NBA's last dynasty that broke the regular season mark for most wins in a season and broke basketball by adding Kevin Durant to a title team have achieved that level of sustained West success recently.
There's a distinct difference in how Golden State and Oklahoma City reached their respective 6 conference finals. The Warriors had one prolonged dominant team headed up by a living legend in Steph Curry alongside All-Star teammates Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, plus the addition of an MVP player in Durant. Steve Kerr's squad churned the roster around their stars, but it was the same core that achieved that level of winning over a long period of time.
Meanwhile, the Thunder have reached the conference finals six times with two completely different teams with one (quick) rebuild in the middle. The first era of OKC basketball was led by Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook and reached the West Finals four times. The second era of OKC basketball is led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams and has now gone to the Western Conference Finals in back to back seasons. The fact that Sam Presti was able to build two unique contending teams over such a short period in one of the smallest markets in the league is uncharted territory.
The defending champs have bigger goals than a return trip to the Western Conference Finals. Lifting a second Larry O'Brien Trophy is the task at hand. But it doesn't make their latest achievement any less impressive.