OKC’s short-lived dynasty with 3 MVPs: Breaking down the last Thunder team to reach the NBA Finals
As the OKC Thunder, the Oklahoma team have only qualified for one previous NBA Finals back in 2012.
Ask any basketball fan in Seattle, how many NBA Championships the Oklahoma Thunder have won and the answer will be a resounding ‘zero’. Factually these fans are correct and despite the Supersonics winning the title in 1979 that title passes to Oklahoma with the franchise move.
At the end of the 2007-08 season, the Seattle Supersonics ceased operating with the franchise moving to Oklahoma City where the Thunder emerged.
However, despite the title being won by Seattle, the official NBA history books acknowledge that with the move to Oklahoma, the Thunder have now inherited this title.
1979 aside, before this season, only once in franchise history have the team known as Oklahoma City Thunder reached an NBA Finals series and this was back in 2012.
OKC vs Heat
The 2012 NBA Finals featured a highly anticipated matchup between the Miami Heat and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Miami Heat led by their “Big Three” of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh had overcome a tough Eastern Conference Finals series against the Boston Celtics (4-3).
The Thunder were a young and exciting team featuring rising superstars Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden (all three would go onto be NBA season MVP’s) with the team having defeated the veteran San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals (4-2).
Despite winning Game 1, the Heat turned things around to beat Oklahoma City Thunder 4 games to 1. with LeBron James named the NBA Finals MVP, marking his first NBA championship. He averaged 28.6 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 7.4 assists for the series.
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