Will the OKC Thunder's Youth Become its Playoffs Downfall?
The Oklahoma City Thunder became the youngest team to ever hold a No. 1 seed, but against some highly experienced stars in the Western Conference, it could be a curse.
Out of all the storylines floating through Oklahoma City in one the franchise's greatest regular seasons, none seem to define the Thunder as much as the age of its roster.
It became the youngest team in NBA history to achieve a No. 1 seed in either conference, with a combined age average of 23.9. It's nearly unprecedented to have a roster this young have so much success, completing going against the preconcived notion of inexperience holding it back.
Whether that's true or not still can't be decided until the Thunder actually perform in the playoffs, where it will have a formidable opponent no matter how the Play-In Tournament shakes out. It consists of the New Orleans Pelicans, Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors, all teams with prior playoff experience that can pose a serious threat.
Going up against a LeBron James or Stephen Curry — two of the greatest players of all time with several championships combined — could expose that lack of experience if Oklahoma City's talent can't play up to par. Luckily for the Thunder, however, plenty of teams in the past have gone far at a young age.
Including one of its own.
Back in 2012, the infamous Oklahoma City roster featuring a 23-year-old Kevin Durant, 23-year-old Russell Westbrook and 22-year-old James Harden took over the NBA in a playoff run that took it all the way to the NBA Finals. It passed up a reigning-champion Dallas Mavericks, a Kobe Bryant-led Los Angeles Lakers and a Tim Duncan-era San Antonio Spurs, only to fall short of the Miami Heat's rival big three of James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
Although the Thunder's young stars had gotten playoff experience in previous years, reaching the NBA Finals was a significant jump at that point in its timeline. The parallel between that roster and today's has been drawn throughout the season, especially now that Oklahoma City finds itself as a top contender in the West.
The 2012 Thunder defeated all-time greats on its way to the championship series, so why couldn't this years?
That's not to mention other teams in the past several years that reached far distances in the playoffs at a young age, including the Boston Celtics of 2022 that reached the finals against Golden State behind 23-year-old Jayson Tatum and 25-year-old Jaylen Brown. Even the 2015 NBA Champion Warriors reached that milestone at a young age with a 26-year-old Curry and 24-year-old Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
Youth rarely is the sole factor as to why a team falls short in the playoffs. It could be a reason, but Oklahoma City will need to endure far more to be a first round exit.
As teams have the past have proven, older doesn't always means better.
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