Oklahoma City Thunder

For the minor league American football team, see Oklahoma Thunder.
Oklahoma City Thunder
2015–16 Oklahoma City Thunder season
Conference Western
Division Northwest
Founded 1967
History Seattle SuperSonics
1967–2008
Oklahoma City Thunder
2008–present[1]
Arena Chesapeake Energy Arena
Location Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Team colors Blue, red, yellow, dark blue[2][3]
                   
Team manager Sam Presti
Head coach Billy Donovan
Ownership Professional Basketball Club LLC
Affiliation(s) Oklahoma City Blue
Championships 1 (1979)
Conference titles 4 (1978, 1979, 1996, 2012)
Division titles 11 (1979, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016)
Retired numbers 7 (1, 10, 19, 24, 32, 43, Microphone)
Website okcthunder.com
Uniforms
Home
Away

The Oklahoma City Thunder is[4] an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Thunder competes in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Northwest Division.[5][6] The team plays its home games at Chesapeake Energy Arena.[7] The Thunder's NBA Development League affiliate is the Oklahoma City Blue, which is owned by the Thunder.[8][9] The Thunder is the only team in the major professional North American sports leagues based in the state of Oklahoma.[10]

The team was originally established as the Seattle SuperSonics, an expansion team that joined the NBA for the 1967–68 season. The SuperSonics relocated in 2008 after a settlement was reached between the ownership group led by Clay Bennett and lawmakers in Seattle, Washington following a lawsuit. In Seattle, the SuperSonics qualified for the NBA Playoffs 22 times, won their division six times, and won the 1979 NBA Championship. In Oklahoma City, the Thunder qualified for their first playoff berth during the 2009–10 season. They followed that success by winning their first division title as the Thunder in the 2010–11 season and their first Western Conference championship as the Thunder in the 2011–12 season, appearing in the NBA Finals for the fourth time in franchise history and first since 1996, when the club was based in Seattle.

Franchise history

1967–2008: Seattle SuperSonics

Main article: Seattle SuperSonics

The Thunder's previous incarnation, the Seattle SuperSonics, were formed in 1967. In their 41 seasons in Seattle, the SuperSonics compiled a 1745–1585 (.524) win–loss record in the regular season and went 107–110 (.493) in the playoffs. The franchise's titles include three Western Conference championships and one NBA title in 1979.

Chesapeake Energy Arena (known as the Ford Center at the time) began hosting the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2008.

Relocation to Oklahoma City

In 2006, former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz sold the SuperSonics for $350 million to a group of Oklahoma City investors led by Clay Bennett, a move approved by NBA owners the following October.[11][12] In 2007, Bennett announced that the franchise would move to Oklahoma City as soon as the lease with KeyArena expired.[13]

In June 2008, a lawsuit brought by the City of Seattle against Bennett due to his attempts to break the final two years of the Sonics' lease at KeyArena went to federal court. Nearly a month later, the two sides reached a settlement agreement.[14] The terms awarded the city $45 million to get out of the remaining lease at KeyArena, and could provide an additional $30 million payment to Seattle in 2013 if certain conditions are met. The owners agreed to leave the SuperSonics name, logo and colors in Seattle for a possible future NBA franchise;[15] however, the items would remain the property of the Oklahoma City team along with other "assets," including championship banners and trophies.[16] On September 3, 2008, the team name, logo, and colors for the Oklahoma City franchise were revealed to the public. The name "Thunder" was chosen due to Oklahoma being a frequent victim of powerful storms due to its location in Tornado Alley, and Oklahoma City housing the 45th Infantry Division, the Thunderbirds.[17][18]

2008–09: Inaugural season in Oklahoma City

Oklahoma City defeated Minnesota on November 2, 2008 for their first win.

The Thunder participated in the Orlando Pro Summer League featuring their second-year players, potential free agents and rookies. The players wore generic black and white jerseys reading "OKC-NBA" against an outline of a basketball. The Thunder's temporary practice facility was the Sawyer Center at Southern Nazarene University, which had been used by the New Orleans Hornets when they relocated to Oklahoma City after Hurricane Katrina.[19]

The Thunder played several preseason games before the 2008–2009 regular season, but only one of those games was in Oklahoma City. The Thunder made their first appearance in Billings, Montana on October 8, 2008 in an 88–82 preseason loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves.[20] The Thunder played their first Ford Center game on October 14 against the Los Angeles Clippers.[21]

In their regular-season home opener, the Thunder faced (and lost to) the Milwaukee Bucks. Earl Watson scored the first points of the season with a layup. Three nights later on November 2, the Thunder won their first game by defeating the Timberwolves, improving their record to 1–3. The team then went on a 10-game losing streak before deciding on November 22 to fire head coach P. J. Carlesimo and assistant Paul Westhead. Assistant coach Scott Brooks then took over on an interim basis.[22] Oklahoma City lost its next four games to tie the franchise losing streak of 14 set in Seattle the previous season. But the team managed to prevent history by winning their next game on the road against the Memphis Grizzlies.[23]

As the season continued, the Thunder began to improve. After starting 3–29, the Thunder finished the regular season 20–30 for the remaining fifty games. Not only were they winning more often, they played much more competitively than in the first part of the season. The team brought their record to 23–59 and improved upon their record of 20–62 from the team's final season in Seattle. The late-season successes of the Thunder contributed to the signing of Scott Brooks as the team's official head coach.

After moving to Oklahoma City from Seattle, the team's operating situation improved markedly. In December 2008, Forbes magazine estimated the team's franchise value at $300 million – a 12 percent increase from the previous year's $268 million, when the club was located in Seattle.[24] Forbes also noted an increase in percentage of available tickets sold, from 78 percent in the team's last season in Seattle to 100 percent in 2008–09.[25]

2009–10: The turnaround season

After an inaugural season filled with many adjustments, the Thunder hoped to improve during their second season in Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City did not make any major moves in the offseason, other than drafting James Harden from Arizona State University with the third overall pick in the NBA Draft. The Thunder selected Rodrigue Beaubois with the 25th pick in the 2009 draft before immediately trading him to the Dallas Mavericks for the 24th pick, center Byron Mullens from Ohio State University. The team then added veteran center Etan Thomas and guard Kevin Ollie. The last major change to their roster occurred on December 22, 2009, when the team traded for Eric Maynor from the Utah Jazz. Maynor immediately supplanted Ollie as the backup point guard.

From the outset the young team looked determined and cohesive. The increasing leadership of Kevin Durant, along with the growing experience of the Thunder's younger players (including future All-Stars Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Serge Ibaka), were signs of the Thunder's improvement. The 2009–10 season included several victories over the NBA's elite teams, including a 28-point blowout over the Eastern Conference champion Orlando Magic and a 16-point blowout of the reigning NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers. Road victories over the San Antonio Spurs, Utah Jazz, Miami Heat, Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks further enhanced their reputation. Though they hovered around .500 for the first half of the season, they went on a 9-game winning streak that sent them into serious playoff contention. Kevin Durant became the youngest player in league history to win the scoring title, averaging 30.1 points per game while playing in all 82 games.

The Thunder finished 50–32, more than doubling their win total from the previous season. The 50–32 tied with the 2008 Denver Nuggets as the best 8th seed in the modern Playoffs era, at least in terms of record. The Oklahoma City Thunder also had the same record as the Boston Celtics in this season.[26] They finished fourth in the Northwest Division and eighth in the Western Conference playoff standings, and earned a spot in the 2010 NBA Playoffs. On April 22, the team secured their first playoff win in Oklahoma City when they defeated the defending-champion Los Angeles Lakers 101–96. This was also the Thunder's first playoff win at the Ford Center. However, the Thunder tied the series at 2 games each, but the Lakers won the last 2 games in the series to win it 4-2.

Oklahoma City ranked twelfth in overall attendance in the NBA, and seventh in percentage of available seats occupied (98 percent, including 28 sellouts in 41 home games).[27] The team's operating situation also continued to improve in 2009–10. Forbes magazine estimated the team's franchise value at $310 million (an increase of $10 million over the prior year) with an estimated operating profit of $12.7 million (the first operating profit in years for the franchise).[28]

2010–11: Rise to contention

Financially, the Thunder organization continued to build on the positive returns experienced from relocating from Seattle to Oklahoma City. In January 2011, Forbes magazine estimated the franchise's worth at $329 million, up six percent from 2009–10 and ranking No. 18 in the NBA.[29] The magazine also estimated the franchise's revenue at $118 million and operating profit at $22.6 million – up 6.3 percent and 78 percent, respectively, from the previous year.[28][29] The Thunder finished the 2010–2011 season with a 55–27 record, a five-win increase from their breakout season the previous year. The team also captured their first division title since moving to Oklahoma City, and seventh in franchise history.[30]

In the wake of a fourth-seed versus fifth-seed match-up against the Denver Nuggets, Kevin Durant scored 41 points in Game 1 to set a new career playoff high. In the final game of the series, he again scored 41 and forward Serge Ibaka nearly tied the record for most blocks in a playoff game (10, set by Mark Eaton, Hakeem Olajuwon and Andrew Bynum) with 9 blocks.[31] The Thunder won the series 4 games to 1 and were set to face off against the Memphis Grizzlies who achieved an eight-seed upset over the San Antonio Spurs just days before. The Thunder advanced to the Western Conference Finals with a seven-game series triumph over the Grizzlies. Durant was again the star, scoring 39 points in the clinching Game 7, while Russell Westbrook also had a triple-double. Despite hard-fought battles with the eventual NBA champs, the Thunder fell to the Dallas Mavericks 4–1 in the Western Conference Finals. The Thunder had a chance to tie the series in Game 4, but they were unable to hold a 15-point lead with five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. They ended up losing in overtime by the score of 112–105.

2011–12: Playing in the NBA Finals

During the extended lockout, Thunder players played in exhibition games and even local pickup games to stay in shape.[32][33][34][35] When the abbreviated training camp began, Oklahoma City started with an intact roster and all players, except for Russell Westbrook. In addition, Kendrick Perkins lost more than 30 pounds during the lockout. The Thunder made their two pre-season appearances, after the lockout, against the Dallas Mavericks, winning both games. They won their first regular-season game against Orlando at home and went on a five-game winning streak. Kevin Durant became the sixth player to score 30 or more points in four consecutive games at the start of a season. In addition, the Thunder was the first to sweep their back-to-back-to-back games, winning a home-and-home series with the Houston Rockets, then routing the San Antonio Spurs. Thunder players Durant, Westbrook, Harden, Perkins, and Ibaka made it onto the 2012 All-Star ballots. After the Thunder's win over the Utah Jazz on February 11, 2012, Scott Brooks was named the Head Coach of the Western Conference All-Star squad for the 2012 NBA All-Star Game in Orlando, Florida.

In the 2012 NBA Playoffs, the Thunder swept the defending champion Dallas Mavericks in the first round to advance and face off against their first-round foes from 2010, the Los Angeles Lakers. They defeated the Lakers in five games and advanced to play the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals. The Thunder lost the first two games against the Spurs but won the next three including a Game 5 road win, to take a commanding 3–2 game lead in the series. In Game 6, the Thunder defeated the Spurs 107–99 and advanced to the 2012 NBA Finals. Durant led the way with 34 points, playing all of regulation time in the game. In the 2012 NBA Finals against the Miami Heat, the Thunder won the first game at home but then lost four in a row and lost the series in five games.

2012–13: After Harden

In the 2012 NBA draft, the Thunder selected Baylor University forward Perry Jones III with the 28th overall pick. The Thunder also signed free agents Hasheem Thabeet and Daniel Orton, and signed guards Andy Rautins and DeAndre Liggins. They re-signed forward Serge Ibaka to a four-year, $48 million extension. After failing to sign James Harden to an extension that was reportedly worth four years and $52 million, the team decided to trade Harden rather than having to pay the luxury tax penalty. On October 27, 2012, the Thunder traded Harden along with center Cole Aldrich and forwards Daequan Cook and Lazar Hayward to the Houston Rockets for Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb, first-round draft picks from Toronto and Dallas, and one second-round draft pick. Martin took over Harden's sixth-man role for the season. The Thunder finished with a 60–22 regular season, taking both the Northwest division title and top seed of the Western Conference. In the first round of the playoffs, they faced the 8th-seeded Houston Rockets, featuring former team member James Harden. In game 2 of the series, Russell Westbrook was struck by Rockets point guard Patrick Beverley, and fell down with an injury and missed the rest of the playoffs after having knee surgery. Without the team's second-leading scorer, the Thunder, who had a 3–0 lead, lost the next two games to bring the series to 3–2. In game 6, the Thunder defeated the Rockets to advance to the second round, facing a rematch of the 2011 second round, with the Memphis Grizzlies. The Thunder lost the series 4–1, losing four straight games after winning Game 1 at home.

2013–14: Durant's MVP campaign

In the 2013 NBA draft, the Thunder selected 12th pick Steven Adams, traded for the 26th pick Andre Roberson, and selected 47th pick Grant Jerrett. Kevin Martin's contract expired, and he soon signed with the Timberwolves. In addition to Oklahoma City's off-season movements, they signed free agent Ryan Gomes and re-signed Derek Fisher. The team finished second in the conference to San Antonio with a 59–23 record. They met the Memphis Grizzlies for the third time in the playoffs. It also sparked a news article which reportedly called Durant "Mr. Unreliable". The series set a record for most consecutive overtimes in a series with four. OKC prevailed in seven games to play for the first time the Los Angeles Clippers, whom they defeated in six games. Their final playoff opponent, in the Western Conference Finals, was the San Antonio Spurs, with the Spurs winning, 4–2.

2014–15: Injuries, missed the playoffs

With the 21st and 29th picks in the NBA draft, the Thunder selected Mitch McGary from Michigan and Josh Huestis from Stanford. "He brings energy, passion, and great basketball IQ and toughness what we value" said Presti on drafting McGary. Oklahoma City also signed Semaj Christon in the draft. On July 3, the Thunder signed Sebastian Telfair. But they lost shooting guard Thabo Sefolosha as his contract expired and he agreed to a three-year, $12 million contract with the Atlanta Hawks. Several weeks before the season started, the Thunder suffered a setback as Durant was diagnosed with a Jones fracture in his right foot and missed the first 17 games of the season. During the opening game against the Portland Trail Blazers, Westbrook scored 38 points, but found himself sidelined due to a small fracture in his right hand. He missed 16 games, during which Oklahoma City went 4–12. During the middle of the season Westbrook and Durant both came back, and similarly suffered more injuries. Durant was ruled out of the rest of the season in March, deciding to have foot surgery. Westbrook also had to undergo surgery in early March, to repair a fracture in the zygomatic arch bone of his right cheek. Several days later he returned and recorded several triple-doubles on his way to Western Conference Player of the Month honors from February to April. He also won the 2014–2015 NBA scoring title. However, despite the effort, the Thunder missed the playoffs due to a tiebreaker with the New Orleans Pelicans, and Westbrook fell short of the MVP award, finishing fourth in voting. They finished with a 45–37 record. On April 22, 2015, Scott Brooks was fired as the Thunder head coach. Billy Donovan was hired on April 30, 2015. This is Donovan's first major NBA coaching job, after he initially accepted and then left the Orlando Magic job in 2007.[36][37]

2015–16

Franchise accomplishments and awards

Single game records

Playoffs

Season Record Seed First Round Conference Semifinals Conference Finals NBA Finals Notes
2009–10 50–32 8th Los Angeles Lakers
(Lost 4-2)		 — — —
2010–11† 55–27 4th Denver Nuggets
(Won 4-1)		 Memphis Grizzlies
(Won 4-3)		 Dallas Mavericks
(Lost 4-1)		 —
2011–12† 47–19 2nd Dallas Mavericks
(Won 4-0)		 Los Angeles Lakers
(Won 4-1)		 San Antonio Spurs
(Won 4-2)		 Miami Heat
(Lost 4-1)
2012–13† 60–22 1st Houston Rockets
(Won 4-2)		 Memphis Grizzlies
(Lost 4-1)		 — —
2013–14† 59–23 2nd Memphis Grizzlies
(Won 4-3)		 Los Angeles Clippers
(Won 4-2)		 San Antonio Spurs
(Lost 4-2)		 —
2015–16† 55–27 3rd Dallas Mavericks
(Won 4-1)		 San Antonio Spurs
(Spurs lead series 2-1)		 — —
† Denotes Division championship

Home arenas

Note: All arenas used before 2008 were used by the defunct Seattle SuperSonics franchise.

Seattle arenas had hosted two NBA All-Star Games; the 1974 game in Seattle Center Coliseum and the 1987 game in the Kingdome, where SuperSonics forward Tom Chambers grabbed MVP honors.

Chesapeake Energy Arena (2008–present)

Opened in 2002, Chesapeake Energy Arena was built without luxury accommodations, but designed to accommodate luxury "buildouts" should a professional sports franchise locate to the city.

A plan for such build-out improvements began in 2007. It came in the wake of the acquisition of the Seattle SuperSonics by an Oklahoma City-based ownership group the previous October. A city ballot initiative approved by a 62 percent margin on March 4, 2008, extended a prior one-cent city sales tax for a period of 15 months in order to fund $101 million in budgeted improvements to the arena and a separate $20 million practice facility for a relocated franchise.[40]

Renovation work on the arena was delayed by a sales tax-receipts shortfall during the 2008-10 economic crisis.[41] Revised plans limited the size of a new glass entryway and eliminated a practice court to accommodate the shortfall.[42] Major construction work on the arena expansion was also delayed from the summer of 2010 to the summer of 2011. Seating capacity of the stadium is 18,203 for professional NBA basketball games.

Similar revisions were made to the plans for the Thunder's separate practice facility, for a total cost savings of approximately $14 million.[43] The Thunder's practice facility completion date was pushed back to approximately March 2011.[44]

Mascots

Note: All mascots used before 2008 were used by the defunct Seattle SuperSonics franchise.

Rumble the Bison

Main article: Rumble the Bison

On February 17, 2009, Rumble the Bison was introduced as the new Oklahoma City Thunder mascot during halftime of a game against the New Orleans Hornets. Rumble was the winner of the 2008–2009 NBA Mascot of the Year.[45]

Fanbase

During the 2012 NBA Finals, sportswriter Bill Simmons published a piece on the team's fan base in his ESPN-sponsored Web outlet, Grantland.com, in which he noted the unusual enthusiasm of the city for its team:

“ With the possible exception of Portland, no NBA team means more to its city. This goes beyond having the loudest fans. There's genuine devotion here. These people arrived a good 45 minutes early for last night's Game 1 — and by "these people" I mean "everyone with a ticket" — then clapped their way through pregame warm-ups with such infectious enthusiasm that I remember saying to a friend, "No way these yahoos keep this up for three hours, they're going to burn out." Wrong. You know what burned out? My eardrums. My head is still ringing.[46] ”

Simmons speculated that the Oklahoma City bombing played a major part in the team's culture, noting that Thunder general manager Sam Presti has every new Thunder player visit the Oklahoma City National Memorial, and encourages players to look into the stands and consider that many of the team's fans were personally affected by the event. He also noted, however, that the fact that the Thunder is the only team from Oklahoma City (or indeed the state of Oklahoma) in one of the nation's four major leagues contributes mightily to the city's devotion.[46]

Thunder fans are also reportedly much more likely to attend major home games than most other NBA fanbases. According to a source in the ticket industry, only five percent of tickets to the 2012 NBA conference finals listed for sale on secondary market sites such as StubHub were for Thunder home games, and for every ticket listed for a Thunder home game in the 2012 NBA Finals, 10 tickets for Heat home games were listed.[46]

Players

Current roster

Oklahoma City Thunder roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From
C 12 Adams, Steven 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1993–07–20 Pittsburgh
F/C 4 Collison, Nick 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1980–10–26 Kansas
F 35 Durant, Kevin (C) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1988–09–29 Texas
G 6 Foye, Randy 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 213 lb (97 kg) 1983–09–24 Villanova
F 34 Huestis, Josh 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1991–12–19 Stanford
F/C 9 Ibaka, Serge (C) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1989–09–18 Spain
C 11 Kanter, Enes 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1992–05–20 Stoneridge PS (CA)
F 33 McGary, Mitch 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1992–06–06 Michigan
C 13 Mohammed, Nazr 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1977–09–05 Kentucky
G 2 Morrow, Anthony 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1985–09–27 Georgia Tech
G 22 Payne, Cameron 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1994–08–08 Murray State
G/F 21 Roberson, André 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1991–12–04 Colorado
F 5 Singler, Kyle 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 228 lb (103 kg) 1988–05–04 Duke
G 3 Waiters, Dion 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1991–12–10 Syracuse
G 0 Westbrook, Russell (C) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1988–11–12 UCLA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • (DL) On assignment to D-League affiliate
  • Injured

Roster • Transactions
Last transaction: 2016–04–02

Retained draft rights

The Thunder hold the draft rights to the following unsigned draft picks who have been playing outside the NBA. A drafted player, either an international draftee or a college draftee who isn't signed by the team that drafted him, is allowed to sign with any non-NBA teams. In this case, the team retains the player's draft rights in the NBA until one year after the player's contract with the non-NBA team ends.[47] This list includes draft rights that were acquired from trades with other teams.

Draft Round Pick Player Pos. Nationality Current team Note(s) Ref
2015 2 48 Johnson, DakariDakari Johnson C  United States Oklahoma City Blue (D-League) [48]
2014 2 55 Christon, SemajSemaj Christon G  United States Consultinvest Pesaro (Italy) Acquired from the Miami Heat (via Charlotte) [49]
2013 2 32 Abrines, ÁlexÁlex Abrines G/F  Spain FC Barcelona Lassa (Spain) [50]
2012 2 56 Zubčić, TomislavTomislav Zubčić F/C  Croatia Oklahoma City Blue (D-League) Acquired from the Toronto Raptors [51]
2008 2 50 Hardin, DeVonDeVon Hardin F/C  United States Paulistano (Brasil) [52]
2006 2 53 Halperin, YotamYotam Halperin G  Israel Hapoel Jerusalem (Israel) [53]
2003 2 34 Schortsanitis, SofoklisSofoklis Schortsanitis C  Greece PAOK (Greece) Acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers (via Atlanta) [54]
2003 2 35 Szewczyk, SzymonSzymon Szewczyk F/C  Poland Stelmet Zielona Góra (Poland) Acquired from the Milwaukee Bucks [55]
2003 2 50 Morlende, PaccelisPaccelis Morlende G  France Hermine de Nantes Atlantique (France) Acquired from the Philadelphia 76ers [53]

Individual awards

For details on Seattle SuperSonics history, see Seattle SuperSonics records.

NBA Most Valuable Player

NBA All-Star head coach

NBA Coach of the Year

NBA Sixth Man of the Year

NBA scoring champion

All-NBA First Team

All-NBA Second Team

NBA All-Defensive First Team

NBA All-Defensive Second Team

NBA Rookie of the Year

NBA Rookie First Team

NBA Rookie Second Team

NBA All-Star Team

NBA All Star Game Most Valuable Player

Former players

For the complete list of Seattle SuperSonics players see: Seattle SuperSonics all-time roster.

Retired jersey numbers

As the Oklahoma City Thunder's original iteration, the Seattle SuperSonics retired six numbers. In addition, the SuperSonics awarded an honorary microphone to longtime broadcaster Bob Blackburn, who had called the majority of the team's games from 1967 through 1992.[56][57]

Oklahoma City Thunder retired numbers
No. Player Position Tenure N° Retirement
1 Gus Williams G 1977–84 March 26, 2004
10 Nate McMillan G 1986–98 a[›] March 24, 1999
19 Lenny Wilkens G 1968–72 b[›] October 19, 1979
24 Spencer Haywood F 1971–75 February 26, 2007
32 Fred Brown G 1971–84 November 6, 1986
43 Jack Sikma C 1977–86 November 21, 1992
Bob Blackburn Broadcaster 1967–92

^ a: Head coach during 2000–05
^ b: Head coach during 1969–72 and 1977–85

Staff

Head coaches

Executives

Logos and uniforms

The Oklahoma City Thunder unveiled their first logo on September 3, 2008. According to majority owner Clay Bennett, the team's logo takes several of its elements from other Oklahoma sports teams such as the collegiate Sooners and Cowboys.[17] The uniform design was unveiled on September 29, 2008.[58][59]

An alternate uniform was unveiled on November 8, 2012, featuring only navy blue and white colors. Unlike their regular uniforms, the wordmarks on the alternate are written vertically.[60][61]

A second alternate uniform was unveiled on March 1, 2015. A white uniform with sleeves, it features the Thunder partial logo in the center of the chest, and the shorts showcase bolts in light blue and sunset colors.[62]

A third alternate uniform was unveiled on September 25, 2015. A sunset-colored uniform, it features the Oklahoma City abbreviation "OKC" in navy block letters trimmed in white. On the back of the jersey, player names sit below the numbers. The shorts display a sunset base with navy panels down the side showcasing the Thunder partial logo on each leg. The Thunder will wear the sunset alternates for 18 games this season, including all 13 of its Sunday games.[63]

Television and radio

Radio

All Thunder games are broadcast on the Thunder Radio Network, fronted by flagship stations WWLS-FM 98.1 and KWPN AM 640 in Oklahoma City. Matt Pinto is the radio voice of the Thunder.[64]

TV

For their first two seasons, the Thunder's TV broadcasts were split between Fox Sports Oklahoma (a regional fork of Fox Sports Southwest), which broadcast most of the games, and independent station KSBI (channel 52), with around 65 Thunder games airing during the season and more than half of the games available in HD on Fox Sports Oklahoma, along with other team-related programming such as pre-game shows. Around 15 to 20 regular-season games were broadcast over the air on KSBI, which had a network of re-broadcasters spanning the entire state. All televised games are called by Brian Davis on play-by-play and Michael Cage as color commentator.[65][66] During the 2009–10 season, KSBI telecast all Thunder games it aired in high definition (KSBI had previously aired in HD the first regular-season game played at the Ford Center – against the Milwaukee Bucks on October 29, 2008 – while all other games during the 2008–09 season were telecast on KSBI in standard definition). On August 3, 2010, the Thunder signed a new exclusive multi-year agreement with Fox Sports Oklahoma, beginning with the 2010–11 season, ending the team's broadcasts on KSBI.[67] On October 22, 2012, the Thunder announced that Lesley McCaslin would be the new Thunder sideline reporter.[68] On July 21, 2014, the Thunder announced that Long would not return to be its TV color commentator on Fox Sports Oklahoma.[69] On September 17, 2014, the Oklahoma City Thunder announced that 15-year NBA veteran Michael Cage would be the new color analyst, joining Brian Davis on television and Matt Pinto on the radio when the game is not on Fox Sports Oklahoma.[70]

References

    1. ↑ "NBA.com/Stats–Oklahoma City Thunder seasons". National Basketball Association. October 17, 2015. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
    2. ↑ "Uniforms and Official Marks" (PDF). 2014–15 Oklahoma City Thunder Media Guide. Oklahoma City Thunder. October 28, 2014. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
    3. ↑ "Oklahoma City Thunder Reproduction Guideline Sheet" (PDF). NBA Media Central. September 4, 2008. Retrieved April 29, 2015. (subscription required (help)).
    4. ↑ "What do the NBA finals have to do with a grammatical nightmare?". Dictionary.com. June 18, 2012. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
    5. ↑ Mayberry, Darnell (April 21, 2008). "Sonics will stay in division". The Oklahoman. Retrieved July 3, 2008.
    6. ↑ Garcia, Art (November 19, 2008). "Western Conference Insider: Realigning the West". National Basketball Association. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
    7. ↑ "City Preparing Ford Center For NBA Team". The Oklahoman. July 3, 2008. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
    8. ↑ Mayberry, Darnell (August 1, 2008). "OKC's NBA franchise buys Tulsa's D-League team". The Oklahoman. Retrieved August 1, 2008.
    9. ↑ "Oklahoma City Franchise To Purchase Tulsa 66ers Of NBA D-League". NBA D-League. July 31, 2008. Archived from the original on August 5, 2008. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
    10. ↑ "The Thunder Hits Oklahoma City Wednesday". Oklahoma City Thunder. October 27, 2008. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
    11. ↑ Allen, Percy (October 24, 2006). "NBA board approves sale of Sonics, Storm". The Seattle Times. Retrieved October 24, 2006.
    12. ↑ "NBA approves sale of Sonics, Storm". ESPN. Associated Press. October 24, 2006. Retrieved July 2, 2008.
    13. ↑ Johns, Greg (November 2, 2007). "Bennett says Sonics going to Oklahoma". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved April 2, 2008.
    14. ↑ "THE PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL CLUB, LLC AND CITY OF SEATTLE SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT" (PDF). Seattle.gov (Press release). City of Seattle, Washington. July 2, 2008. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
    15. ↑ "SuperSonics, Seattle reach last-minute settlement". ESPN. July 2, 2008. Retrieved July 2, 2008.
    16. ↑ Allen, Percy (July 6, 2008). "Seattle and Oklahoma City will share the Sonics' franchise history". The Seattle Times. Retrieved July 6, 2008.
    17. 1 2 "Oklahoma City will be named Thunder, wear blue, orange, yellow". ESPN. September 4, 2008. Retrieved September 4, 2008.
    18. ↑ "Thunder Rolls Into Oklahoma City" (PDF) (Press release). National Basketball Association. September 3, 2008. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
    19. ↑ "Sawyer Center". Southern Nazarene Crimson Storm. December 1, 2010. Retrieved December 1, 2010.
    20. ↑ Sites, Phil (2008-10-08). "T'Wolves Play Spoiler". Billings Gazette. Retrieved 2008-10-09.
    21. ↑ Mayberry, Darnell (August 13, 2008). "Oklahoma City NBA team to face hectic pace in preseason". The Oklahoman. Retrieved August 13, 2008.
    22. ↑ Sheridan, Chris (2008-11-22). "Carlesimo fired; Brooks to take over Thunder in interim". ESPN. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
    23. ↑ "Thunder snap 14-game losing streak behind Durant's 30". USA Today. Associated Press. November 22, 2008. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
    24. ↑ "NBA Team Valuations". Forbes. December 3, 2008. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
    25. ↑ "Oklahoma City Thunder". Forbes. December 3, 2008. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
    26. ↑ Pimentel, Roger. "NBA Playoffs in Numbers: Eight Statistics You Weren't Expecting". How To Watch Sports. Retrieved 2011-03-22.
    27. ↑ "2009–2010 NBA Attendance". ESPN. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
    28. 1 2 "NBA Team Valuations". Forbes (Forbes.com Mobile). December 9, 2009. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
    29. 1 2 "#18 Oklahoma City Thunder". Forbes (Forbes.com Mobile). January 27, 2011. Retrieved 2011-01-27.
    30. ↑ Mayberry, Darnell (April 6, 2011). "Thunder beats Clippers to wrap up Northwest Division title". The Oklahoman. Retrieved 2011-04-07.
    31. ↑ Young, Royce (2011-04-28). "Durant's epic performance in Game 5 is what legends are made of". CBS Sports. Retrieved 2012-10-15.
    32. ↑ Torres, Adry (August 2, 2011). "Kevin Durant scores 66 at Rucker Park". ESPNNewYork.com. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
    33. ↑ McMenamin, Dave (October 10, 2011). "Lockout added water to grass roots". ESPNLosAngeles.com. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
    34. ↑ "Kevin Durant, Washington win city battle". ESPN.com. August 21, 2011. Retrieved September 6, 2011.
    35. ↑ Weidie, Kyle (August 21, 2011). "Drew-Goodman game lives up to hype". ESPNLosAngeles.com. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
    36. ↑ "Thunder Names Billy Donovan Head Coach" (Press release). Oklahoma City Thunder. April 30, 2015. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
    37. ↑ Young, Royce (May 1, 2015). "Thunder hire Billy Donovan as coach". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
    38. 1 2 3 4 "2015-16 Oklahoma City Thunder Media Guide" (PDF). Oklahoma City Thunder. p. 124. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
    39. ↑ "2015-16 Oklahoma City Thunder Media Guide" (PDF). Oklahoma City Thunder. p. 130. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
    40. ↑ Knapp, Adam. "Ford Center Arena Improvement Plan". About.com. Retrieved 2010-11-17.
    41. ↑ "MAPS 3 Citizens Advisory Board Presentation" (PDF). City of Oklahoma City. August 24, 2010.
    42. ↑ Rohde, John (August 8, 2010). "Ford Center practice gym eliminated from renovations". The Oklahoman. Retrieved 2010-11-17.
    43. ↑ "Oklahoma City might save as much as $14 million on Ford Center renovations, practice facility". The Oklahoman. July 7, 2010. Retrieved 2010-11-17.
    44. ↑ Rohde, John (November 16, 2010). "Thunder practice facility set for March completion". The Oklahoman. Retrieved 2010-11-17.
    45. ↑ "Rumble the Bison Named NBA Mascot of the Year" (Press release). Oklahoma City Thunder. August 13, 2009. Retrieved August 26, 2009.
    46. 1 2 3 Simmons, Bill (June 13, 2012). "Thunder Family Values". Grantland.com. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
    47. ↑ Coon, Larry. "NBA Salary Cap FAQ – 2011 Collective Bargaining Agreement". Retrieved April 13, 2014. If the player is already under contract to, or signs a contract with a non-NBA team, the team retains the player's draft rights for one year after the player's obligation to the non-NBA team ends. Essentially, the clock stops as long as the player plays pro ball outside the NBA.
    48. ↑ "Thunder Selects Cameron Payne and Dakari Johnson in the 2015 NBA Draft". NBA.com. June 26, 2015. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
    49. ↑ "Thunder Acquires Mitch McGary, Josh Huestis and Draft Rights to Semaj Christon in the 2014 Draft". NBA.com. June 27, 2014. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
    50. ↑ "Thunder Acquires Steven Adams, Alex Abrines and Draft Rights to Andre Roberson and Grant Jerrett". NBA.com. June 28, 2013. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
    51. ↑ "Thunder Acquires Trade Exception and Tomislav Zubcic". NBA.com. June 30, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
    52. ↑ Allen, Percy (June 27, 2008). "Sonics take UCLA's Russell Westbrook with the No. 4 draft pick". The Seattle Times. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
    53. 1 2 "Record-tying 84 international players on opening-night rosters". NBA.com. October 31, 2012. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
    54. ↑ "Thunder Acquires Schortsanitis and Trade Exception". NBA.com. July 15, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
    55. ↑ "Thunder Acquires Trade Exception". NBA.com. July 11, 2013. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
    56. ↑ "Hanging From the Rafters". National Basketball Association. August 9, 2015. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
    57. ↑ Raley, Dan (February 14, 2006). "Where Are They Now? Blackburn gave Sonics a voice". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
    58. ↑ "Thunder 'flashes' new uniforms". KWTV-DT. September 22, 2008. Retrieved October 2, 2008.
    59. ↑ Dwyer, Kelly (September 29, 2008). "Introducing your Oklahoma City Light Blue Knicks". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved September 29, 2008.
    60. ↑ Dwyer, Kelly (November 9, 2012). "The Oklahoma City Thunder unveil alternate uniforms, to mild local acclaim". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
    61. ↑ "Thunder Alternate Uniform, November 9, 2012". Oklahoma City Thunder. November 9, 2012. Retrieved November 9, 2012.
    62. ↑ "New Thunder Uniform Reflects Hometown Spirit" (Press release). Oklahoma City Thunder. March 1, 2015. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
    63. ↑ "Thunder Unveils New Alternate Uniform for 2015-16" (Press release). Oklahoma City Thunder. September 25, 2015. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
    64. ↑ "Thunder Radio Network". Oklahoma City Thunder. March 7, 2015. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
    65. ↑ Bracht, Mel (September 29, 2008). "FS Oklahoma to air Thunder games". The Oklahoman. Retrieved September 29, 2008.
    66. ↑ Bracht, Mel. "KSBI to air Thunder games". The Oklahoman. Retrieved November 4, 2008.
    67. ↑ "Thunder Signs Exclusive Television Agreement with FOX Sports Southwest". Oklahoma City Thunder. August 3, 2010. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
    68. ↑ Bracht, Mel (October 22, 2012). "OKC Thunder: Lesley McCaslin named team's courtside reporter". The Oklahoman. Retrieved October 27, 2012.
    69. ↑ Mayberry, Darnell (July 21, 2014). "Oklahoma City Thunder TV analyst Grant Long resigns from position". The Oklahoman. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
    70. ↑ "Michael Cage to Join Thunder Broadcast Team". Oklahoma City Thunder. September 17, 2014. Retrieved January 25, 2015.

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