A generational trio, a lost dynasty: how the Thunder dream crumbled – and what rose from the ashes

They were going to conquer the world. The NBA’s next great dynasty. They were meant to own the skies. But each one chose a different path, and now all three are under scrutiny from anyone who watches basketball. It’s been years since Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden arrived in Oklahoma City – in 2007, 2008 and 2009 respectively – to chase history. Drafted at No. 2, 4 and 3, they were the pillars of a full rebuild orchestrated by Sam Presti in search of a title. A once-in-a-generation talent, a point guard built like a tank, and a shooting guard who scored at will. Surrounded by role players like Serge Ibaka, Kendrick Perkins and Derek Fisher, coached by Scott Brooks, they formed a superteam in the making – one that ultimately collapsed under the weight of its own promise, falling short of that one prize everyone in the NBA chases: the ring.

That Thunder team gradually fell apart. The 2012 Finals may have come too early for the project, but they ended up being its peak. That’s where Harden’s journey with OKC ended – Miami nights, a 4-1 loss, and the search for a scapegoat. The Durant-Westbrook duo held on until 2016, when a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference finals against the Warriors slipped away – Billy Donovan was now coaching, the supporting cast had changed (Steven Adams, Enes Kanter…), but the result was the same. Ten threes from Klay Thompson in Game 6, a collapse with the title within reach, and in Game 7, Durant was gone – joining the enemy. He’d win two rings in three Finals with the Warriors. Those are still the only championships among the trio that once promised to take over the league, and they came not as pioneers but as passengers on the NBA’s last great dynasty.

The rest has been failure, dysfunction, and a growing consensus: you can’t win with any of the three.

Every project rests on fragile lines that can break without warning. Momentum shifts constantly – change one piece, and the whole puzzle can fall apart. The 2012 Finals may have felt premature, but by 2016, with a more seasoned core, the result still hadn’t changed: out with no ring. The problem wasn’t the franchise – it was the players. Three stars who carried their talent elsewhere, collected individual accolades, but left a trail of messes. They couldn’t turn personal brilliance into team success. Couldn’t keep things strictly professional. And in the end – Durant aside – they couldn’t win. More than a decade since they entered the NBA, it’s clear: the disaster followed them, not the other way around.

Not in Houston, not in OKC

When Harden left Oklahoma City, he was chasing greatness. And he found it – at a cost. In Houston, he became one of the greatest offensive forces the game has ever seen. He won league MVP in 2018 and averaged 30, 36.1 and 34 points per game over three seasons (2018–2020). But the list of fallen teammates is long: Jeremy Lin, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook… All left under a cloud, especially Paul, with whom Harden came closest to a title – falling in the Conference finals in 2018, losing Game 7 at home without Paul (injured) and with 27 missed threes. It was a system built on repetition: threes and layups, no mid-range, a caricature of modern basketball. The Warriors mastered it. The Rockets drowned in it.

Harden became a singular player – for better and worse. A machine offensively, a liability defensively. A ball-dominant star who struggled to coexist with anyone, whose questionable fitness at the start of seasons and nightlife habits became recurring critiques. He left the Rockets through the back door, just as he would the Nets months later – that failed project with Kyrie Irving and Durant now seen as one of the biggest fiascos in recent NBA history. Now he’s with the Clippers, reuniting with Westbrook for a third time (after OKC and Houston). He forced his way out of the Sixers to get there – his fourth team in three years. A player full of talent, still a fixture in the playoffs, but a shadow of what he once was, now making what feels like one last attempt at a title that may never come.

Westbrook was the last to leave Oklahoma. After Durant’s exit in 2016, the team was built entirely around him: verticality, control of the ball, athletic bigs around the rim, and a steady stream of triple-doubles. But early playoff exits followed – whether alone or with Paul George and Carmelo Anthony. He averaged a triple-double for three consecutive seasons – and again in Washington. He won MVP in 2016-17, led the league in scoring once and in assists three times. But the questions never stopped. He and Harden tried again in Houston – the only pair from the OKC trio to reunite more than once – and again, it ended badly. Patterns repeat. The personalities don’t change. And the toxic mix becomes more obvious with time.

Harden just turned 35. Westbrook is now 36. The latter arrived in LA after a nightmare stint with the Lakers, who struggled to move him on. The Nuggets are now dealing with his inconsistency. Both were once megastars. But ten years after their lone Finals appearance, they haven’t gotten close again. They’ve won awards, earned All-Star nods (10 for Harden, 9 for Westbrook), broken records once thought unbreakable. But they’ve done it without ever winning the ring – the one thing that makes legends. That, in the end, is what separates them.

Kevin Durant, the impenetrable star

Durant was always the crown jewel. A scorer like no other – floating, gliding, delivering nightly excellence without seeming to try. But his on-court brilliance has been matched by off-court instability. His exit from OKC, leaving Westbrook behind, stung badly in Oklahoma. He was blamed, then won two rings in Golden State… before clashing with Draymond Green, blowing up the Warriors’ perfect structure, and limping out in the 2019 Finals against the Raptors with a torn Achilles.

Durant went to Brooklyn to build something new – and it never worked. Three years, one playoff series win, and a coaching ouster (Kenny Atkinson) influenced by him and Kyrie behind the scenes. A trade request followed. Durant seems to hate every situation he’s in – a team built around him (Thunder), a winning dynasty (Warriors), or one that bends to his will (Nets). His passivity in the Kyrie saga earned heavy criticism. Nearing 36, he sought fleeting peace with the Suns, teaming up with Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. But the title still hasn’t come – and another exit seems inevitable. Durant’s résumé is better than Westbrook’s or Harden’s. But it’s still behind others he hoped to surpass. A bad look.

The original OKC trio have racked up 34 All-Star appearances, three MVPs, eight scoring titles, four assist titles, over 70,000 points, 15,000 rebounds, 15,000 assists, 279 triple-doubles, nearly 3,000 games and close to $1 billion in contracts. Also, of course, two titles and two Finals MVPs – both Durant’s. But their lasting legacy may be something far less glorious: a toxic reputation, frayed relationships, and the sense of what could have been. They still produce. They’re still trying. But a championship seems out of reach – as does any reconciliation with public opinion, that strange place where basketball’s real wars are won and lost. And Kevin Durant, James Harden and Russell Westbrook have lost that war. Badly.

The new Thunder

Years later, the Thunder have re-emerged. After seasons adrift, Sam Presti’s relentless draft-pick accumulation paid off. Following a string of miserable records and three straight playoff absences – with 22 and 24 wins in the first two years – they finally reached the play-in, offering a glimmer of hope. Then came the explosion: 56 wins, up 16 from the year before, and 32 more than two years earlier. Last season, they had their first winning record since Westbrook left. This season, they’ve done it again – with 68 wins. They’re back in the Finals.

They hadn’t finished top three in the West since 2015-16. In 2011-12 and 2013-14, they were runners-up. This team has made the podium again – and done so in style. They’re young (23.2 years on average last year, the youngest along with the Spurs), but unlike San Antonio, they weren’t bottom of the table. They were first – the youngest team to top the standings… since those Thunder with Durant and co. This season they’re the seventh youngest, but they’ve been the league’s third-best defense and score over 120 points per game.

That’s in large part thanks to Chet Holmgren, injured last preseason and now thriving in his rookie year: 17.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.6 blocks per game. A defensive anchor who contributes on offense, surrounded by a serious young core – Jalen Williams, Luguentz Dort – under head coach Mark Daigneault, who in his fourth season is getting the best from his team. Presti’s patience has become his strength. He didn’t sack Daigneault during the early lean years. He believed the Thunder’s time would come. And it has.

Mostly because the team now revolves around a genius named Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, this year’s league MVP – the third in Thunder history, after Durant and Westbrook. He beat Nikola Jokic in the voting with averages of 32.7 points, 5 rebounds and 6.4 assists, shooting nearly 52% from the field (unreal for his shot range), 38% from three, and 89% from the line – often drawing fouls in ways reminiscent of… Harden. Go figure. These are no longer Durant or Westbrook’s Thunder. They’re Shai’s team now. But most of all, they’re the Thunder. Four wins from the title. Battle-tested against the Nuggets. Dominant against the Timberwolves. They’re back. And they’re here to stay.

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