The nerdy, authentic Oklahoma City Thunder are a breath of fresh air | Oklahoma City Thunder
WInter is over, even though most NBA fans may feel like it’s just beginning. After a midseason slump, the Oklahoma City Thunder have won 12 of their last 13 games. They cling to a slim but steady three-game lead over the San Antonio Spurs atop an otherwise chaotic Western Conference. (Are the Lakers okay now? The Nuggets can’t find their footing? The Rockets can’t even get up?) The Thunder’s flirtation with vulnerability was fun, but the defending champions seem as invincible now as they did during their 24-1 run to start the season. So, today as yesterday, having nothing to criticize in Thunder basketball, we are forced to discuss their character and vibes.
The reviews are generally bad. I myself celebrated the Spurs when they recorded a hat-trick of wins against the Thunder in December, simply for injecting intrigue into a season that already seemed decided. The Defector Nothing But Respect podcast recently featured a series of anti-Thunder guests; after discussing the idea of artists not liking OKC with musician Will Anderson, a host announced, “next week we’ll have a real Thunder expert speaking up for his team’s values.” Most comments on this episode seemed unconvinced by Ringer editor Tyler Parker’s arguments.
Nitpicking a player or team that has strayed from the pack is one of the greatest pleasures in sport. But, at the risk of upsetting my fellow artists, I recently felt loved by the members of the Thunder.
It all started with their star, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He’s a somewhat brilliant player mechanically, deadly in the consistency of his mid-range jumper. But this season, he’s added a step-back three-point shot to his arsenal, with which he produces moments more viscerally impressive than ever. In a neck-and-neck game on March 9 against the Nuggets, whose Nikola Jokić is arguably the only player in the world better than Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning MVP hit one of those threes with 14 seconds left to seemingly ice the game. Teammate Jaylin Williams committed a stupid foul as Jokić responded with a three, allowing the Nuggets to tie the game. In one universe, this play would make its way into basketball failure compilations, the start of a Thunder choke. In this universe, Gilgeous-Alexander simply drained an extra three-pointer and put the game to bed for real.
A reporter then asked Gilgeous-Alexander if he knew what he was going to do before he shot those wonderful three-pointers. “I have the answers to the test, I need to see the questions first,” he replied.
As Harry Krinsky pointed out in Nothing But Respect, Gilgeous-Alexander has an unfortunate habit of speaking in Instagram captions. Still, a certain culture of transparent aura after creating one of the season’s most brilliant highlights is hardly out of place. (I regret to say that if I were in the same situation, the words “in the zone” would probably have passed my lips.) Another of Gilgeous-Alexander’s most notable personality traits is his love for fashion; he arrived at games wearing a mustard-colored leather suit and, more recently, a fur coat encircling his head. And Gilgeous-Alexander isn’t the only idiot on the Thunder. OKC frequently conducts its on-field interviews in groups, as if any given player needs a buddy at any time.
It’s undeniably quite embarrassing. And yet, it seems somewhat refreshing for male athletes to come across as authentic and show a truth that is just awkward and not ugly.
Next to Bryce Harper performing a military salute after hitting a home run during the World Baseball Classic, against Venezuelaclothes are a nice topic of discussion. The Thunder recently declined a visit to the White House — not in the strongest terms, citing a “timing issue,” but they turned it down, unlike the United States men’s hockey team. (Nor did they laugh at a joke about their female counterparts during a call with the president.)
And it’s not like the other big teams in the NBA. The Boston Celtics are the best story in the league right now, but don’t let Jayson Tatum’s romantic return make you forget that, at their best, the Celtics make an agonizing parody of analytics about how they rely on the three-pointer. Jokić has recently made a habit of lying on top of opposing players and crushing them to the ground. Victor Wembanyama can be a little too preachy in his rosy view of how the Spurs play basketball. The Detroit Pistons play defense as physical as the Thunder or any other team in the league. The Lakers are the Lakers.
So it’s not the worst thing in the world for the best basketball team to be a little bland and cheesy off the court and a little bloodless on it. There are also things to admire. Gilgeous-Alexander gifted Rolex watches to his teammates after winning MVP last year. The fuel of the Thunder’s vaunted defense is little more than trying incredibly hard, as was amusingly seen recently when Alex Caruso tried to block a shot with his shoe. (The referees rewarded his creativity with technology. Cowards.) It’s a good idea that with a common currency like authenticity and effort, the rest of us could excel in the same way. Oklahoma City’s quirks will continue to fuel animosity as long as they remain great, but when winter comes in earnest for them, I bet they’ll feel the heat from more fans.
