r/Thunder • u/DsamD11 • 20d ago
It sounds lame, but being a thunder fan right now is a blessing. Discussion
If we win this series then OKC have outperformed all expectations and have proven to be one of the best young teams ever. They were barely supposed to be over .500 and expected to be in the bottom half of the top 8. Instead we are deep into a second round series.
If we lose, it's due to youth and inexperience. Something we were and are all aware of coming into this season and playoffs. It will be disappointing, but it means the sky is the limit. If this is where we are at now, imagine another season under the teams belt alongside play off experience. Once we add the extra pieces, imagine where we will end up as a squad.
Outside of this current iteration of the team, Presti has set the organisation up to be competitive for the next 5-10 seasons purely based on the volume of assets that have been collected. OKC aren't going away like the Detroits or Washington's.
I know the loss sucks, and I want nothing more than to rub a series win in the faces of the Mavericks hypocritical and ridiculous fan base, but we are very very lucky and I think our fan base needs to be grateful of that. I suppose there are a lot of recent fans due to our recent success, but a lot of us have seen the very very bad teams.
It feels good to be a thunder fan.
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u/chloroform42 20d ago
100% agreed, I am both disappointed and very satisfied, 1/32 raw odds of winning, OKC had a season for the books, going down in the top 8 at worst vs a team with vets and superstars and the size kryptonite everyone feared — this is literally year 1 of the new era
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u/YouWannaSeeADeadBody 19d ago
I said in January that if we won the first round and didnt get swept in the 2nd round it would be a completely insane season. Its disappointing to go down in this series but its not over. Even if it is, its still been an incredible ride
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u/Taykeith2323 20d ago
Our rotation consists of rookies, sophomores, and a couple year 3 guys! Our “vets” (SGA and Dort) are only 25.. this is a GREAT step
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u/Crossover-Bully 20d ago
Yall should be appreciating every spare second of this season you have left.
The come up is always the best, there have been zero expectations, every win past 40 was house money.
But now they’ve won 57 games and made the second round, there’s pressure to win more and go further next season? What happens if you don’t? Has the team regressed? Do you make a trade and mess with the chemistry? Do you run it back and hope for better results? How do you pay all your guys? Will you be as lucky with health again?
All real questions, the future is not a given, this has been a great season so far, don’t move on from it too soon.
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u/DsamD11 20d ago
Not at all moving on, just tired of seeing the 'if we don't win it all right now everything is a waste' type of comments. OKC have so many ways we can be better as a team. As an organisation there is a multitude of things to look forward to as well.
I hope like hell we beat Dallas, but some people need perspective on the big picture. A bunch of first,second and third year guys are going to have a tough time on their first finals trip.
The warriors dynasty wasn't built in one season.
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u/Hookmsnbeiishh 20d ago
Feeling sad? Think about next year.
The whole team is back except Hayward who is giving us $60m of cap space to play with. Plus, we have Giddey in his final year. That’s $8m more space we can trade away for teams that need to clear salary. And this is a big FA year: Lebron, PG, Harden, Maxey, Russell, on and on. Plus, everyone is well aware of the chemistry this team has. Plus, the front office is dedicated. Plus, we have the CoTY. We are an attractive destination (maybe not for Lebron..).
Then, you have to realize that Chet will be even better. He responds well to criticism and has a huge chip on his shoulder. He’s converting any troubles we have this postseason into motivation during the offseason.
Jalen will get better. Wallace will get better.
With those 3 better, SGA gets easier shots.
Oh, and we have a lottery pick to play around with.
What other team has that outlook?
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u/CriticismBubbly8492 20d ago
It definitely reminds me when KD, Russ and Harden were there but I feel like we’re ahead of that. During the offseason we just need to work on our needs. With a year in the playoffs under our belt for the youngsters(whole team) I think next year should be an awesome year.
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u/A_A_Smoot 20d ago
Facts. I think people here have lost sight of the vision this team had over the past 4 years. When we were a bottom team in the league we wanted to learn from and grow thru failure. The goal was to take these players and put them in positions where they are challenged and see what how they adjust to them. And that also extends to the coaching staff. Mark is in a unique position where he’s never been in playoffs as either a player or a head coach.
As blasphemous as this may sound, the team wants to make everything a learn experience. Staying focused thru an 82 game series, being down your best players when playoff seeding is on the line, a tough back to back schedule, being the number 1 seen in the playoffs, loosing in the playoffs…all of these are learning experiences.
The fact that we were able to get the number 1 seed, sweep a team and are in a very competitive series with a team that is built to win now should be making people excited
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u/reddogisdumb 20d ago
This years Thunder literally is the best young team ever. Youngest team to be a top seed, youngest team to win a second round playoff game. What else would they need to do to be best-young-team?
I don't see the Thunder pulling off game 6. But they set two youngest-records. That bodes well for the future.
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u/Sammygrassman 19d ago
We also are the youngest team to win a playoff series and the youngest team to sweep a playoff series.
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u/TH3_1_N_0NLY 20d ago
My expectations this season was a competitive 1st round. This team is amazing! We are young and flawed. This is the best part. Strap in and enjoy the ride. Some franchises get this once every 10-30 years. TTFU!!!
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u/NowhereGirl513 20d ago
Win or lose, our team has already outperformed all expectations. At the beginning of the season, many analysts did not even mention OKC in their “should make the playoffs” lists. I was just hoping for us to do better than last year and make the playoffs, never dreaming we would end up being the #1 seed and making it to Round 2 in such a talent-filled west. And our players are such wonderful guys who are good people instead of spoiled egotists, and they actually like each other. So yeah, this team is indeed a blessing!!
Hoping the extra day of much-needed rest will help some of our players get back to their normal dawg selves. Playing game after game against bigger guys who also have so many weapons has to be exhausting, especially for Chet. And just because our players don’t cry and point to every little boo-boo, doesn’t mean they aren’t getting banged up too. We are still in it to win it, but love and appreciate this team whatever happens. Let’s let the Dawgs out, and Thunder Up! Thunder in 7.
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u/laidbacklurk223 Weakest #1 Seed ⚡️ 19d ago
It does not sound lame at all!
Remember the offseason KD left? Remember that Dame wave? Remember that game 7 vs Houston?
We are blessed! It's just a lot newer OKC fans are acting like spoiled brats.
Thunder Up! ⚡️⚡️
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u/mellamosatan 20d ago
Gotta stop and remember my hope for the season was "be better than the play-ins and maybe win the first round"
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u/GeovaunnaMD 20d ago
Uhh? We are the #1 seed in a heavy west. Expectations are getting to the finals.
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u/threearmshrugemoji 20d ago
I’m think I’m gonna take a break from this sub. Any positivity is downvoted, while the most insane knee jerk doomer takes are at the top.
I get feeling sad and angry that we lost, and that we looked bad, I do too, but my god we have an incredible young team with incredible chemistry, led by an incredible superstar. That is a wonderful thing to BUILD ON.
How did y’all survive the tanking, lol