Time to start thinking about the upcoming Oklahoma City Thunder basketball season. But what we would be thinking about today if the final five minutes of Game 6 had played out differently? What we’d probably be talking about is how after getting to the NBA Finals after beating the Warriors in Game 6 then losing to LeBron and the Cavs in six games is what the Thunder have to do to win an NBA championship.
Durant would still be in OKC, the Ibaka trade for Oladipo still would have happened, and Al Horford would be reunited with Billy Donovan. OKC in likelihood would be the Vegas favorite to win the NBA championship and the entire basketball world would be abuzz about the Thunder vs. Warriors rivalry becoming the next great rivalry in NBA history.
But instead what we have not only as Thunder fans, but fans of the NBA is Durant now playing for Golden State while the Thunder deal with the reality of not currently belonging in the same elite group of the Cavs, Warriors, and Spurs.
If those five fateful minutes play out differently in Game 6 and Durant and Westbrook didn’t collapse at the end you’d have to assume at the least Durant would be back on a one year deal giving it one more try in Oklahoma City.
But the reality is Durant now plays for the AAU Super Team in Oakland while Oklahoma City trys to retool itself with Russell Westbrook being the main guy.
Put aside the Oklahoma City slant and just consider how all this has changed the entire Western Conference and perhaps the entire NBA.
It’s clearly time to move forward but it’s hard not to wonder what if.