Stiles Points: OKC Thunder See World's Collide This Weekend

As everyone sweats out a potential swing-game in the Western Conference Semi-Finals on Saturday, it serves as a reminder of how far Oklahoma City has come in a short time - and how their two worlds are colliding.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are in a leveled second-round series against the Dallas Mavericks in the team's first trip past the first round since 2016.

A year ago at this time, Mark Daigneault was shaking Golf Balls at a LIV Tour Pro-Am and the Thunder were celebrating a 40-42 season that saw them return to the postseason going 1-1 in the NBA Play-In Tournament as they were ousted by the Minnesota Timberwolves to just miss a crack at the eventual champs.

That season, all eyes were on the NBA Draft Lottery which netted the Thunder No. 12 that they later traded for the 10th pick at the 2023 NBA Draft to secure Cason Wallace, a stellar rookie in this postseason run Oklahoma City.

Now, the lottery has snuck up on most people in Bricktown, with the focus drawn to a possible trip to the Western Conference Finals.

If you told anyone a year ago that not only would Oklahoma City make the playoffs assuredly, but be the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference after securing 57 wins on the year and being in the midst of a winnable second round clash, everyone would sign on the dotted line.

Oklahoma City has turned in one of the fastest rebuilds in NBA history, and Sunday's NBA Draft Lottery will serve as a reminder of the warp speed progress.

Now, the two worlds collide as the lottery picks roll in with the wins on the court giving one of the best executives in the league access to many different avenues to improve the roster at the proper times.

Stiles Points

Oklahoma City will continue to start Josh Giddey in Game 3 against the Dallas Mavericks, despite his ten-minute outing in Game 2 of this series. Though, expect the young guard to be on a short leash.
Jason Kidd compared rookie big man Chet Holmgren to both Victor Wembanyama and Giannis Antetokounmpo ahead of Game 3, with high praise for the No. 2 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.
Luka Doncic, to no surprise, is active for Game 3 despite being tabbed as questionable prior to tip-off.
Traveling down to Dallas with editor Derek Parker was a starch reminder of two things: Texas drivers are awful and Bucc-ee's is sensory overload. Also, neither party was expecting "Beaver Nuggets" to be caramel corn. That was a jolt to the system at 9 AM.

Song of the Day: Best of Both Worlds by Hannah Montana.

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