Oklahoma City Thunder - Harden and Durant's Departures to Westbrook's MVP 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. The team plays its home games at the Paycom Center. The Thunder are the only team in the major North American professional sports leagues based in the state of Oklahoma. The team, originally known as the Seattle SuperSonics, was formed in 1967. In their 41 seasons in Seattle, the SuperSonics have qualified for the playoffs 22 times, and the franchise's accomplishments include winning their division six times, winning the Western Conference three times, and winning the NBA championship in 1979. In the 2012 NBA draft, the Thunder selected Baylor University forward Perry Jones III with the 28th overall pick. The Thunder also signed free agents Hasheem Thabeet and Daniel Orton, and signed point guards Andy Rautins and DeAndre Liggins. They re-signed forward Serge Ibaka to a four-year, $48 million extension. After failing to sign James Harden to an extension that was reportedly worth four years and $52 million, the team decided to trade him. On October 27, 2012, the Thunder traded Harden, center Cole Aldrich, and forwards Daequan Cook and Lazar Hayward to the Houston Rockets for Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb, first-round draft picks from Toronto and Dallas, and a second-round draft pick. Martin assumed Harden's sixth-man role for the season. The Thunder finished 60–22, winning the Northwest Division and first place in the Western Conference. In the first round of the playoffs, they faced the 8th seed Houston Rockets, featuring former team member James Harden. In the second game of the series, Russell Westbrook was hit by Rockets point guard Patrick Beverley, suffering an injury and missing the rest of the playoffs after undergoing knee surgery. Without their second-leading scorer, the Thunder, who had a 3–0 lead, lost the next two games to bring the series to 3–2. In Game 6, the Thunder defeated the Rockets to advance to the semifinals, a rematch of the 2011 series with the Memphis Grizzlies. The Thunder lost the series 4–1, losing four straight games after winning Game 1 at home. In the 2013 draft, the Thunder selected Steven Adams with the 12th pick, traded for André Roberson with the 26th pick, and selected Grant Jerrett with the 47th pick. Kevin Martin was not re-signed and opted to join the Timberwolves, while the team was only able to add free agent Ryan Gomes and re-sign Derek Fisher to complete their offseason moves. The team finished second in the Western Conference with a 59–23 record. They met the Memphis Grizzlies for the third time in the playoffs, who set a record for most consecutive overtimes in a playoff series with four. Oklahoma City prevailed in seven games to play the Los Angeles Clippers in the semifinals, whom they defeated in six games. Their last playoff opponent, in the conference finals, was the San Antonio Spurs in a rematch of the 2012 conference finals, this time with the Spurs winning 4–2. With the 21st and 29th picks in the 2014 draft, the Thunder selected Mitch McGary of Michigan and Josh Huestis of Stanford. “He brings energy, passion and great basketball IQ and toughness, which we value,” general manager Sam Presti said of McGary’s draft. Oklahoma City also signed Semaj Christon after acquiring his draft rights from the Charlotte Hornets. On July 3, the Thunder signed Sebastian Telfair. But they lost shooting guard Thabo Sefolosha when his contract expired and he agreed to a three-year, $12 million deal with the Atlanta Hawks. Several weeks before the season started, the Thunder suffered a setback when Durant was diagnosed with a Jones fracture in his right foot and missed the first 17 games of the season. A Jones fracture is a bone fracture between the base and middle of the fifth metatarsal bone in the foot, resulting in pain near the outside of the midfoot. Bruising and difficulty walking may also occur. The onset is usually sudden. The fracture was first described in 1902 by orthopedic surgeon Robert Jones, when he suffered the injury while dancing. It’s a common injury among athletes and dancers of all ages. During the season opener against the Portland Trail Blazers, Westbrook scored 38 points but was sidelined with a fractured right hand. He missed 16 games, during which Oklahoma City went 4-12. During the midseason, Westbrook and Durant returned and similarly suffered more injuries. Durant was ruled out for the rest of the season in March, deciding to have foot surgery. Westbrook also had surgery in early March to repair a fractured zygomatic arch bone in his right cheek. Several days later, he returned and recorded multiple triple-doubles en route to Western Conference Player of the Month honors for February–April. He also won the 2014–15 NBA scoring title. However, despite the effort, the Thunder missed the playoffs due to a tiebreaker with the New Orleans Pelicans, and Westbrook fell short of the MVP award, finishing fourth in voting. They finished with a 45–37 record. On April 22, 2015, Scott Brooks was fired as head coach of the Thunder. Billy Donovan was hired on April 30, 2015. This was Donovan's first major NBA coaching job, after he initially accepted and then left the Orlando Magic job in 2007. With the 14th and 48th picks in the 2015 draft, the Thunder selected Cameron Payne of Murray State and Dakari Johnson of Kentucky. With Billy Donovan as the team's head coach, the Thunder won the Northwest Division and secured the third seed in the Western Conference. The team reached the conference finals for the fourth time in six seasons, but were eliminated by the Golden State Warriors in seven games after blowing a 3–1 series lead. Following much speculation about the future of free agent star Kevin Durant, he announced on July 4, 2016, that he was joining the Warriors. The move to join last season's 73-win team was heavily criticized by the public and sports media, with many comparing the move to LeBron James's departure from Cleveland to the Miami Heat in 2010. On July 7, Durant was officially introduced by the Warriors. On August 4, 2016, Westbrook agreed to a three-year extension to remain with the Thunder. With averages of 31.6 points, 10.4 assists, and 10.7 rebounds, Westbrook became the first player since Oscar Robertson to average a triple-double in an entire NBA regular season (and the only players to do so). Oscar Palmer Robertson (born November 24, 1938), nicknamed "The Big O", is a former professional basketball player who played for the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks. Robertson played point guard and was a 12-time All-Star, 11-time All-NBA Team member, and one-time MVP winner. His playing career, especially during high school and college, was plagued by racism. In 1962, he became the first player in NBA history to average a triple-double in a season. In the 1970–71 season, he was a key player on the team that brought the Bucks their first NBA championship. On April 2, 2017, Westbrook tied Oscar Robertson's record for most triple-doubles in an NBA season (41); he broke the record on April 9 against the Denver Nuggets, recording his 42nd triple-double of the season. Westbrook also hit a shot on the clock to end the Nuggets' playoff hopes in that game. The Thunder would go on to finish the regular season with a 47–35 record, securing the sixth seed. In the playoffs, they faced the Houston Rockets. Oklahoma City lost the playoff series in the first round to the Rockets 4–1. Despite the team's loss, Westbrook averaged a +14 from the field and a triple-double during the series and was named league MVP after the season. Alex