Throughout the years the NBA has shown us that small market teams can have successful runs in the league. Cities like Utah, Portland, Indiana, Sacramento, and San Antonio have fielded contending teams. Though only San Antonio have reaped the benefits of an NBA Championship. The Spurs won four Championships in a eight year span. The Spurs can make a strong case for the most successful small market team of all time. The Utah Jazz had an unbelievable span that resulted in them making the playoffs for 20 consecutive seasons including two trips to the NBA Finals were they eventually lost to those Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls Teams in both 1997 and 1998. Portland and Indiana could also thank MJ for not being able to win a Championship during his era of greatness, also we will get into Sacramento's tough luck a little bit later. nowadays there is a new small market team on the rise, the franchise formally known as the Seattle Supersonics. The Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Thunder arrived in Oklahoma City in 2008 and in there inaugural season only won 23 games. Led by emerging superstar Kevin Durant they made a tremendous leap the following season and won 50 games which earned them the eight seed in the Western Conference and earned them a date with the eventually champs Los Angeles Lakers. Even though the Lakers won the hard fought series in six games OKC earned the respect of the Lakers especially Kobe Bryant who went on to say that the Thunder were a team on the rise and they were only going to get better, and so they did. Kevin Durant continued to grow as a player and another emerging star was born in OKC as well because Russell Westbrook propelled his game to an All-Star caliber and Head Coach Scotty Brooks had his team rolling on all cylinders. OKC went on to win 55 games which gave them the fourth seed. They defeated Denver in the first round and beat Memphis in seven games. Just like that Oklahoma City was in the Western Conference Finals basically with the same nucleus that won only 23 games just two years prior. Even though they went on to lose that series to the eventual 2011 Champion Dallas Mavericks, OKC had put themselves on the list of elite teams in the NBA.
The question was whether Oklahoma City is the next San Antonio Spurs NBA Champions and are still perennial Championship contenders to this day or the Sacramento Kings who were once upon a time perennial Championship contenders during the early 2000s but suffered through a bunch of tough luck and eventually fell of the map entirely. If you are a true basketball fanatic like me you would quickly answer San Antonio Spurs solely because of the way OKC is managed. Not to mention OKC General manager Scott Presti is also a product of San Antonio's front office as well. Unlike the Kings OKC has shown that they are prepared for the future as they continue to breed young talent. OKC's best 3 three players Durant, Westbrook, and James Harden are all under 25 years-old. Sacramento seemed like they were only interested in winning for the now and there time frame lasted from 1999-2005 and they started to decline after that infamous trip to the 2002 Western Conference Finals when they lost game seven on there home court to the Lakers. Also Sacramento's stars were already during the latter half of there primes. Chris Webber was a great player but injuries started to heap on him after the 2002 run. Peja Stojakovic and Mike Bibby were great role players but were one dimensional players and Vlade Divac and Doug Christie were towards the end of their careers. Compared to OKC's starting five Westbrook, Durant, Thabo Sefolosha who is the defensive perimeter stopper, all energy shot blocker Serge Ibaka, and the defensive enforcer Kendrick Perkins. OKC definitely has more balance in there starting line up compared to the Kings and every starter including sixth man Harden are all under 28. My last point is the front office moves primarily in the draft and trades. Most notably the trades for Chris Webber and Mike Bibby come to mind because each trade propelled the Kings. When it comes to the draft the Kings did not draft any players during there heyday that contributed to their run. The Spurs on the other hand have done a phenomenal job in the draft. Of course David Robinson and Tim Duncan jump out both were 1st overall picks and the leaders of Championship teams. Now Tony Parker was drafted 28th overall in Manu Ginobili was a second round pick 57th overall YES 57, 57 out of 58 picks that is amazing. The Spurs have also looked to the future with young players Dejuan Summers, Gary Neal, Danny Green, and Tiago Splitter who will most likely take the mantle sooner rather then later. Durant, Westbrook and Harden were all top 5 picks mainly due to the rebuilding years. Those were excellent picks, Serge Ibaka was the 24th pick of the 2008 draft. They took sharp shooter Reggie Jackson out of Boston College with the 24h pick in last year's draft which fills a need for OKC. When it comes to trades Sefolsha and Eric Maynor arrived to Oklahoma City via trade and have provided great contributions. The Kendrick Perkins trade showed that OKC is for real because they knew that they needed a big man and went out and got themselves a big man that will anchor there defense for the foreseeable future, something Sacramento didn't look forward to.
I'm not saying OKC will win a Championship, but what I am saying is Oklahoma City has put themselves on the same road to success as the San Antonio Spurs. Now it is up to them to put it all together. So far they are doing just that as we approach the All-Star break they have the best record in the Western Conference, but Championships are not won during the regular season this is a question that can only be answered during the playoffs so we will wait and see if Oklahoma City is the next San Antonio or Sacramento?
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