So…I Finished the Sam Anderson Book

I can’t lie. I loved it. Especially the way he ended it with three different epilogues. The last one being were Russell refuses to sign his new contract and announce it until September 29th on Kevin Durant’s birthday.

Absolutely the perfect way to end the book. I told you people…Little Miss Sunshine.

For those of us who in real life are OKC survivors and somehow still walk and speak and are able to still breathe in spite of the things this city seems bent on doing to itself—this will be a book we always treasure.

More than anything this book is complete and utter dysfunction rolled into the history of America’s 29th largest city. And here’s the thing…I think as Sam Anderson stayed here and worked on the book he like me in some ways finds the dysfunction kind of an attractive thing in a weird sort of self destructive way. Hence, the inclusion of Wayne Coyne into this epic yarn.

Why would any person need to live in New York, LA, Chicago or elsewhere when Oklahoma City has captured the title of America’s Most Dysfunctional Medium Sized City?

Tulsa, Wichita, and Omaha aren’t like this—trust me.

Somehow, someway… out of that land run and in a steady stream of historic mentally unstable intervals…Oklahoma City has become the dysfunction mecca of cities with more than 300,000 people.

I don’t mean this in a snarky way…not at all. I wonder to myself if this dysfunction is why Russell Westbrook decided to sign this new contract which will keep him here thru what basically will be the prime of his professional basketball career?

Again, I don’t mean this to be snarky, but Russell plays the most dysfunctional basketball I’ve ever witnessed in my life of watching basketball. He doesn’t seem to know if he’s a point guard, a shooting guard, a small forward, a power forward, or a center. It’s complete and total dysfunction, yet we love him and embrace him now as one of us.

At one point, I wonder if Russell thought to himself…”These people are even crazier than I am? I was born to be here. Thye’ve got it all.”

Harden would never have co-existed in this bullshit for a long period of time and you could tell by Kevin’s facial expressions that he felt uncomfortable coming clean and saying, “You motherfuckers are crazy. I can’t stay here.” Even Collison probably won’t come back to coach.

But amidst the craziness, the obvious political insanity, the absence of sustained reason, despite self induced sonic booms and earthquakes…Russell Westbrook is one of us and he loves it here. And now so does Paul George.

And on this highly human positive note I find myself with some real bounce as we enter the 11th season of Sam Presti’s Process in Oklahoma City.

Even if the Thunder never at this point win an NBA title, Presti has proved one thing, that being, you can talk two NBA stars into staying in Oklahoma City even when they aren’t obliged to by the contractual rules of the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement.

Think about what I just wrote. If ever there was a monumental moral victory—this was it.

THEY’RE ONE OF US AND THEY LOVE US!

See the glass half full.

So…Sam Anderson, thank you for the yarn. It made me laugh, it made me cry, and in the end what difference does it really make that the Thunder lost Game 6 to the Warriors. Think how boring it must be to be a Warriors’ fan already knowing you should threepeat this season unless Kerr and the team show up drunk for every game. I mean, like who cares? Secretly… I bet Steve Kerr wishes he were here. Really, I bet he wishes he were here.

Russell stayed. Paul George is staying with him. Steven Adams is writing wordly books. Andre still won’t be able to make a free throw. And observing Russell and Dennis Schroeder co-exist could be fun. What more could you ask for as an NBA fan?

I feel blessed as a Thunder fan. I really do.

LET’S GO THUNDER!

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