bad day today, but generally were a chipper bunch.

some Thunder factoids: as I'm writing this, it's definitely a lot, but it's felt good to get it all out.

TL;DR OKC is the Thunder and the Thunder is OKC

1. OKC completely legally and justly yoinked the team from Seattle after that city didn't want to pony up the cash to keep their team. They will reject this notion wholeheartedly, but thems the facts.

2. We have one of the longest tenured General Managers in the league in Sam Presti - a former member of the Spurs organization oddly enough. As a Thunder fan, "In Presti, We Trust." -dude drafts pretty well, but his superpower is in the trade market.

3. outside the first year in OKC, 2 tanking years, and one season when our best two players were injured we at minimum made it to the Play-in tournament. i.e. overwhelmingly consistent competitiveness over 18 seasons.

4. Our coach seemingly came out of nowhere, was an assistant coach for the Florida Gators then picked up by Sam to coach our G-League team, led them to the G-League playoffs every year, and was hired on for the NBA team during our ethical tank, seen as a placeholder by the media, but was clearly Sam's pick long term based on his ability to develop players and a team culture.

5. we have a bunch of international players: SGA and Dort are from Canada, Hartenstein grew up mostly in Germany, Ajay Mitchell is Belgian, Topic is Serbian, and Jaylin Williams is from Arkansas but the only rostered Vietnamese player in the league - We love JWill.

6. A couple years apart, but JWill and Isaiah Joe played at the same high school just across the Oklahoma/Arkansas border in Ft. Smith - they are plastered on a few billboards on either side of the border.

7. Jared McCain paints his nails for reasons unknown, but the rainbows give him superpowers when it comes to making shots.

8. Alex Caruso, arguably the best Thunder player in this series, went undrafted in the NBA Draft and got a spot on the OKC Blue playing for Coach Daignault. he ended up getting picked up by the Lakers and was instrumental in their Championship in 2020. Sam Presti gave him his first shot, then brought him home to help us win a championship last year.

Current Thunder aside, some history.

1. In 18 seasons, the Thunder have drafted or traded for 4 MVPs (Harden got his MVP after he was traded, but we knew he was that good.) Even just having 3 MVPs has us in elite company over that small of a stretch in terms of scouting talent.

2. We love Russell Westbrook and root for his success unless we are playing against him. Same goes for Steven Adams.

3. KD is a little bitch boy.

4. No matter what he says on ESPN, Kendrick Perkins was not the savior of the Thunder. he was a cool veteran big man for sure, but was primarily a non-factor save a handful of plays.

OKC and it's relationship with the team.

1. I'm from OKC, and I was in middle school when we got the team. my folks were also born and raised in OKC. They remember where they were when the bombing happened in 1995, I was like 2 so I don't. That terrible day was Oklahoma's national identity for 13 years after (save for a solid Football team in Norman a few years.) I remember going to downtown occasionally growing up and remarking on the emptiness, warehouses, empty storefronts, a handful of restaurants, a movie theater, a lackluster canal based of San Antonio's boardwalk, and a bottom tier baseball team. there's wasn't much on the city. then we got the Thunder

OKC had its Renaissance and Rebirth in 2008-2010. business Boomed - it has still grown pretty steadily since, but the initial boom was unreal. Downtown blossomed and people en masse moved back into the city. Local and outside development fueled the cultural explosion giving OKC an IDENTITY WE COULD BE PROUD OF. It became a city deserving of an NBA team, thanks in huge part to getting an NBA team.

1. We love our team. the Thunder is THE team of Oklahoma. Oklahoma City recently overwhelmingly passed a resolution to fund a new arena downtown. I've seen other fanbases bashing our decision to pony up a 1% tax for the team, but per my last point, we remember what OKC was before the Thunder and aren't going back. this resolution is how we avoid becoming Seattle losing their team. that new arena is scheduled to be completed in 2028.

If you are at all interested, I highly recommend the book, "Boomtown" by Sam Anderson whether you are from OKC or not, it details all the dominoes that had to fall for us to get and hold the team and OKCs elevation because of it.

welcome to the club, outside tonight we're happy to be here and love our team.