Looking Back at the OKC Thunder's Lone Finals Appearance
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In 2012-13, the Oklahoma City Thunder had the most successful season in their 15-year history, winning 60 games before working their way through the Western Conference Playoffs and into the finals. Led by All-Star duo Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, OKC was regarded as one of the best teams in the league.
In 2022-23, not a single franchise logged more than 58 wins, with Milwaukee leading the regular season win total before being ousted from the playoffs in the first round by the Miami Heat as a part of their run to the finals. Denver won 53 games this year and Miami finishing the regular season with 44 victories.
The Nuggets, led by All-Star and back-to-back MVP winner Nikola Jokic and microwave scorer Jamal Murray. The Heat have been carried to the finals on the backs of multiple monster performances from Jimmy Butler and a handful of impressive outings from the team's role players.
The 2012-13 Thunder, on the other hand, were led by MVP runner-up Kevin Durant and blossoming All-Star Russell Westbrook. Durant averaged 28.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.3 blocks per game that year, with Westbrook tallying 23.2 points, 7.4 assists, 5.2 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game.
Additionally, the team was anchored on the defensive end of the floor by Serge Ibaka, who averaged 13.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and a whopping three blocks per game. 2012-13 marked the Oklahoma City's first season without James Harden since the organization drafted him in 2009.
In OKC's dominant season, the Thunder scored 105.7 points per game, the third highest total in the NBA that season. On defense, Oklahoma City only allowed 96.5 points per game, which also ranked in the league's top 10 in 2012-13.
While both the Heat and Nuggets score more points than OKC did, the Thunder's defense was statistically better than both of the 2023 NBA Finals representatives. This season, Denver averaged 115.8 points per game while allowing 112.5 points per game and Miami scored 109.5 points per contest, allowing 109.8 points per outing.
In the 2013 Finals, Oklahoma City would end up falling to LeBron James and the Heat in five games. It seems, however, that the young Thunder would have had a much better shot to knock off either of the squads in this year's title series.
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