Stiles Points: OKC Thunder Have Bright Future, Despite Disappointing Ending

As the buzzer sounded at the American Airlines Center blue and white streamers fell from the rafters, "Let's Go Mavs!" chants echoed onto the hardwood, and the Oklahoma City Thunder realized their season was over. Collectively the youngest roster in the NBA, nearly all looked around in shock, dropping to their knees in most cases and earning a feeling no professional athlete wants.

After a 57-win season and becoming the youngest No. 1 seed of all time in the toughest conference, the Thunder deserved to be disappointed with a Round 2 exit. A position they found themselves in after turning in just a 40-42 record a season ago. This season was a clear indication that the future is bright in Bricktown.

With the initial sting of the second round, it opens up old wounds for many people around Oklahoma City. A franchise that has been burned by the bright future tagline before in pursuit of a championship. Though, there is no reason to worry with this team.

The Thunder have put themselves in as good of a position as you possibly can find yourself in to have long-term success. Chasing a championship ring is often a fruitless exercise, only one of the 30 squads pull it off each season.

Oklahoma City has more assets than ever, one of the best coaches in the sport, one of the best decision-makers in the sport, one of the best players in the sport and an already tantalizing young core. No one is set up for success over this span than the Thunder.

Sure, you can spend all day worrying about everything going wrong or players getting hurt, the same as any other franchise. But which organization have the most get-out-of-jail-free cards to make up for any missteps?

Stiles Points

The Oklahoma City Thunder are conducting exit interviews with players and head coach Mark Daigneault on Sunday.
Now, the attention turns to the NBA Draft as the OKC Thunder currently controls the No. 12 overall pick with plenty of flexibility.
While this season was an incredible journey and viewed as "house money" the pressure of expectations begins to mount this summer.
Despite falling in six games, the total score of this series wound up tied to show the razor-thin margins of a postseason series.
The Oklahoma City Thunder certainly have key lessons to learn from their initial playoff run.

Song of the Day: Closing Time by Semisonic.

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