Midwest Sports Fan Blog

Usually when a team has the third pick in the NBA Draft, the team would be lucky to reach the .500 point the following season. For the Thunder, they were able to reach the 50-win plateau for the first time since they moved from Seattle to Oklahoma City. With a core that includes Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden, the future could not be brighter. However, it could all come together this coming off-season. Let’s be honest; the chance of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, or Amare Stoudemire coming to Oklahoma City is pretty much 0%. However, there will be other all-star caliber players on the market such as Carlos Boozer and David Lee. Do not put it past Oklahoma City management to shell out money for a big man.

Oklahoma City, Seattle, or whatever you want to call them, have lacked a big man for a long time. Since the days of Shawn Kemp, they have not had a huge inside presence. They passed up on Brook Lopez, although they are hardly at fault due to the success of Russell Westbrook. But this team has gone through big men of the likes of Robert Swift and Jerome James. This can all be fixed in the 2010 off-season, if management solves the big man problem.

by David at the Sports Fan Blog Network

Back when the Thunder were 3-29 last season, the notion of the playoffs coming to Oklahoma City any time soon was unimaginable.

But it was that same miserable stretch that made general manager Sam Presti confident that coach Scott Brooks was the right man to lead his team into the future.

While Oklahoma City struggled to the worst start in the NBA, Presti was impressed by the way Brooks stayed the course and never tried to force immediate changes in hopes of making the Thunder better. He now has taken the youngest roster in the league and turned the team into a 50-game winner and a playoff team just one season after the horrendous start.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

It would be nice if they could have closed out the final night of the regular season in finer style.

It would be nice if the Oklahoma City Thunder offered a little more of the way they were playing before and after the All-Star break than they managed down the regular season’s final stretch.

On the other hand, who thought they’d get here so fast? Who thought the Ford Center would be the site of meaningful April basketball?

Wednesday night it was Memphis visiting.

Click here to read the full article – By Clay Horning of The Norman Transcript

The Oklahoma City Thunder seemingly have found a winning formula — Kevin Durant and a lot of defense.

Durant matched his season high with 40 points and the Thunder defeated New Jersey 105-89 Monday night, sending the Nets to their 10th straight loss — their second double-digit losing streak of the season.

The key for the Thunder was the final 17 minutes when they limited New Jersey to 17 points, including 13 in the final quarter.

“I was so pleased with the how we played in the fourth quarter,” said Durant, who made 15 of 22 shots and excited the road crowd with a couple of big dunks. “No matter if I got 40 or not, we played so hard in the fourth and limited their touches, limited them to one shot and out and we got some easy baskets. That was a great effort in the fourth.”

The win was a season-high third straight for the Thunder (16-14).

“We have a long ways to go,” Durant said. “We still have a lot of slip-ups in games, but we are getting better. Hopefully, we peak at the right time.”

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

Rookie James Harden scored six of his 11 points in overtime, helping the Oklahoma City Thunder salvage a 30-point outing by Kevin Durant and win their preseason home opener by beating the Phoenix Suns 110-105 on Monday night.


Amare Stoudemire scored 20 points for the Suns, who twice rallied from double-digit deficits — the second time with backups — and never led until overtime. Phoenix was up 103-100 before the Thunder closed the game on a 10-2 run. D.J. White put Oklahoma City ahead for good at 104-103 with a jumper with 2:55 left and Michael Harris followed with a three-point play.

Durant went 5 of 5 from 3-point range as the Thunder finished 9 of 17 from behind the arc.


Click here to read the full article – By MURRAY EVANS of dc50tv.com

Below are links to memorabilia available for Kevin Durant.