4 908 / 5 000 Oklahoma City Thunder - Rise and First Finals Appearance The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder are part of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at the Paycom Center. After an inaugural season filled with many adjustments, the Thunder hoped to improve during their second season in Oklahoma City. The team made no major moves in the offseason, other than drafting James Harden out of Arizona State University with the third overall pick in the NBA draft. The Thunder selected Rodrigue Beaubois with the 25th pick in the 2009 draft before immediately trading him to the Dallas Mavericks for the 24th pick, center Byron Mullens out of Ohio State University. The team then added veteran center Etan Thomas and point guard Kevin Ollie. The last major roster move came on December 22, 2009, when the team traded German power forward Peter Fehse for point guard Eric Maynor and injured power forward Matt Harpring from the Utah Jazz. Maynor is currently an assistant coach with OKC. From the start, the young team looked determined and cohesive. The growing leadership of Kevin Durant (the last player drafted by the SuperSonics), along with the growing experience of the Thunder's younger players, including future MVPs Westbrook and Harden, were signs of the Thunder's improvement. The 2009–10 season included several victories over the NBA's elite teams, including a 28-point win over the Eastern Conference champion Orlando Magic and a 16-point win over the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers. Road victories over the San Antonio Spurs, Utah Jazz, Miami Heat, Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks further enhanced their reputation. Although they hovered around .500 in the first half of the season, they went on a 9-game winning streak that put them in serious playoff contention. Kevin Durant became the youngest player in league history to win the scoring title, averaging 30.1 points per game, and played in all 82 games. The Thunder finished with a 50–32 record, more than doubling their win total from the previous season. The 50–32 record tied the 2008 Denver Nuggets for the most wins by an eighth seed in the modern playoff era. The Oklahoma City Thunder also tied the Boston Celtics for the most wins this season. They finished fourth in the Northwest Division and eighth in the Western Conference playoff standings, and earned a spot in the 2010 NBA playoffs. On April 22, the team secured their first playoff victory in Oklahoma City when they defeated the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers 101–96. This was also the Thunder's first playoff win at the Ford Center. The Thunder would tie the series at two games, but the Lakers won the final two games of the series to win 4–2. Oklahoma City ranked twelfth in overall attendance in the NBA and seventh in percentage of available seats filled (98.9%, including 28 sellouts in 41 home games). The team's operating situation also continued to improve in 2009–10. Forbes magazine estimated the franchise's value at $310 million (an increase of $10 million from the previous year), with an estimated operating profit of $12.7 million (the franchise's first operating profit in years). Financially, the Thunder organization continued to build on the positive returns experienced from the move from Seattle to Oklahoma City. In January 2011, Forbes magazine estimated the franchise's value at $329 million, a six percent increase from 2009 to 2010 and ranking it 18th in the NBA. The magazine also estimated the franchise's revenue at $118 million and operating income at $22.6 million—a 6.3 percent and 78 percent increase, respectively, from the previous year. The Thunder finished the 2010–11 season with a 55–27 record, an increase of five wins from their debut season the previous year. The team also won its first division title since moving to Oklahoma City and the seventh in franchise history. Following a fourth- and fifth-seed matchup against the Denver Nuggets, Kevin Durant scored 41 points in Game 1 to set a new playoff career high. In the final game of the series, he scored 41 more, and center Serge Ibaka nearly tied the record for most blocks in a playoff game (10, set by Mark Eaton, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Andrew Bynum) with nine blocks. The Thunder won the series four games to one and were scheduled to face the Memphis Grizzlies, who had defeated the San Antonio Spurs just days earlier. The Thunder advanced to the Western Conference Finals with a seven-game series victory over the Grizzlies. 2 733 / 5 000 Kevin Durant scored 41 points in Game 1 to set a new playoff career high. In the final game of the series, he scored 41 points again, and center Serge Ibaka nearly tied the record for most blocks in a playoff game (10, set by Mark Eaton, Hakeem Olajuwon and Andrew Bynum) with nine blocks. The Thunder won the series four games to one and were set to face the Memphis Grizzlies, who had defeated the San Antonio Spurs just days earlier. The Thunder advanced to the Western Conference Finals with a seven-game series victory over the Grizzlies. Durant was again the star, scoring 39 points in the deciding Game 7, while Russell Westbrook had a triple-double. Despite a tough battle with the eventual NBA champions, the Thunder lost to the Dallas Mavericks 4-1 in the conference finals. During the second-largest strike in NBA history, the Thunder players played exhibition games and even field games to stay in shape. When the shortened training camp began, Oklahoma City had an intact roster, except for Russell Westbrook. Additionally, Kendrick Perkins lost over 30 pounds during the strike. The Thunder won their first regular-season game against Orlando at home and went on a five-game winning streak. Kevin Durant became the sixth player to score 30 or more points in four consecutive games to start a season. Additionally, the Thunder became the first to sweep back-to-back games, winning a home-and-away series with the Houston Rockets and then defeating the San Antonio Spurs. Thunder players Durant, Westbrook, Harden, Perkins, and Ibaka were included in the 2012 All-Star Game voting. Following the Thunder's victory over the Utah Jazz on February 11, 2012, Scott Brooks was named head coach of the Western Conference All-Star team for the NBA All-Star Game. In the 2012 NBA playoffs, the Thunder swept the defending champion Dallas Mavericks in the first round to advance to their 2010 first-round opponent, the Los Angeles Lakers. They defeated the Lakers in five games and advanced to play the San Antonio Spurs in the conference finals. The Thunder lost the first two games against the Spurs, but won the next three, including a road victory in Game 5, to take a 3–2 series lead. In Game 6, the Thunder defeated the Spurs 107–99 to advance to the 2012 NBA Finals. Durant led the way with 34 points, playing the entire game in regulation. In the 2012 NBA Finals against the Miami Heat, the Thunder won the first game at home, but then lost four in a row, losing the series in five games. Alex