NBA Playoffs 2012: Despite Emerging Dynasty, OKC Thunder No Model for Rebuild

Just like that, there's a new top dog out West.

When the Oklahoma City Thunder finished off the San Antonio Spurs in Game 6 on Wednesday night, they cemented themselves as the new team to beat in the Western Conference for the next few years.

Think about this: In beating the Dallas Mavericks, the Los Angeles Lakers and now the Spurs in this year's playoff run, the Thunder just went through every Western Conference champion since 1999.

Not to mention, the Thunder's core of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden are all 23 years old or under.

A team this young making it to the NBA Finals defies all conventional basketball wisdom, but it can't be labeled a complete surprise. NBA champions typically end up being the team that improves the most throughout the playoffs, and to date, the Thunder fit that bill.

In the coming days, thousands of words of digital ink will be spilled about the Thunder's dynasty-in-the-making and how other down-on-their-luck teams should hope to emulate the Thunder's model.

The only question is: Has OKC stumbled upon a new model of dynasty-building, or did the team simply stumble upon the perfect, unrepeatable combination of luck and skill?

Let's take a quick look back at the Thunder since 2007 to see how they got here:

2007-08

Despite only having the fifth-best odds, the then-Seattle Supersonics win the No. 2 pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, also known as the year of Greg Oden and Kevin Durant. On draft night, the Thunder trade Ray Allen and the No. 35 pick (which turned out to be Glen Davis) for the rights to the No. 5 pick (Jeff Green), Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West.

The Sonics, in their last season in Seattle, finish with a franchise-worst 20-62 record.

2008-09

The Thunder select Russell Westbrook with the No. 4 pick, which is seen by many as a reach at the time, and land Serge Ibaka with the No. 24 pick.

They win a grand total of three more games than the past season, finishing with a 23-59 record. That's two years of being Charlotte Bobcats-level of awful.

2009-10

They nab James Harden with the No. 3 pick—a move they're certainly thankful for now, after all of the "onions" shots he's been hitting this past week—and trade Roddy Beaubois immediately after drafting him for Byron Mullens.

In December, the Thunder trade for the rights of Eric Maynor, a perfect backup point guard complement to Westbrook. At this point, you can see the young talent pool accumulating quickly, as the Thunder win 50 games this season and give the Lakers a scare in an intense, six-game first-round series.

2010-11

The Thunder hold four draft picks this year and trade them all on draft night. Ultimately, they end up with the No. 11 pick, Cole Aldrich, and a few second-rounders. Kevin Durant signs a five-year extension with the team.

A few days before the trade deadline, the Thunder agree to send Green to the Boston Celtics for Kendrick Perkins, who gives them a big body down low next to Ibaka. The Thunder win 52 games in the regular season and make it to the Western Conference finals, where they lose to Dallas in five games.

So, let's recap.

After going into full fire-sale mode in the summer of 2007, the Sonics/Thunder were largely putrid for the next two years, earning themselves two more trips into the Top Five of the NBA draft. They have nailed each and every one of their top picks since 2007 (Green's a success by virtue of turning into Perkins), and even struck gold with Ibaka and Maynor in the later parts of the first round.

They also relied on a desperate Celtics team afraid to re-sign their championship-winning center to a huge contract, shipping out their one extraneous piece (Green) for the Thunder's final missing ingredient.

Without Perkins, are the Thunder as much of a budding dynasty as they appear to be now? Doubtful.

The point is, the "Thunder model" isn't so much a model as it is a combination of two years of tanking, a nice helping of lottery luck and a whole heap of the front office skill required to navigate this many top draft picks and trades.

The Charlotte Bobcats, with new general manager Rich Cho, openly admit they're emulating the Thunder's model, much as the Thunder tried to replicate how the Spurs built a successful small-market team for the long term. The Thunder followed the Spurs' lead by drafting a superstar (Durant being Tim Duncan), cashing in on later draft picks (Tony Parker was a late first-round pick, and Manu Ginobili fell to the second round) and allowing their talent to percolate.

Now that the Bobcats couldn't cash in with the No. 1 pick this year, where's their Duncan or Durant?

Guys like those two don't come around every year. There's only a couple times each decade where a team will have a chance to draft someone like them. Aiming to land a mega-superstar like that in the draft isn't a recipe for success as much as it is a lottery ticket and a prayer.

Instead, ESPN's Chris Broussard touched upon the real lesson teams should learn from this young Thunder squad: Basketball comes first.

"The Thunder's Big Three is on the verge of winning big because they each put winning ahead of lifestyle," Broussard wrote today. "Lifestyle is important and I don't fault guys for wanting to live in a big, vibrant city. But if you place that above winning, your thirst for fun, celebrity status and more media attention might cost you the opportunity to win titles."

Hear that, Dwight Howard? Carmelo Anthony? LeBron James?

You may see Durant in commercials,—there's no way to suggest he's not aware of his brand, too—but in the end, which one's more important?

Endorsements? Fame? The trappings of a typical celebrity lifestyle?

Or hard work? Teamwork? Championships? Glory?

If anything, teams shouldn't pin their hopes upon endless tanking until they can land the next Kevin Durant in the NBA draft. They should focus on drafting players—particularly franchise players—with their priorities straight.