OKC Thunder Highlights to Get You Pumped Up for 2014-15 Season

Even with the disappointing news of Kevin Durant’s injury, there are still plenty of reasons to be excited for the dawn of the 2014-15 NBA season if you’re an Oklahoma City Thunder fan. For starters, that Russell Westbrook guy is pretty darn good in his own right.

On top of that, the OKC faithful should be chomping at the bit to watch the development of some of the young players like Steven Adams and Jeremy Lamb. Furthermore, while the Thunder missed out on Pau Gasol, Anthony Morrow and Mitch McGary are offseason acquisitions who should be instant contributors for this club.

While it’ll be sad to watch the Thunder play without Durant, this team is very much a title contender, and that alone is reason enough to be hyped for the start of the season. Just in case you forgot how good this team is and how entertaining it can be, here’s a compilation of highlights to get your adrenaline pumping and help you prepare for the season.

Kevin Durant’s Wonderful MVP Speech

Despite an entire marketing campaign that aims to convince you that Durant is the “baddest,” he is in reality one of the nicest and most humble megastars in NBA history, and this MVP speech reminds us of that fact.

This slideshow is supposed to get you pumped up, and we’ll get to the jaw-dropping highlights in a minute, but one of the biggest reasons to watch this team is to witness the continued maturation of Durant as he climbs the ladder of basketball history.

We knew that the lanky kid coming out of Texas was going to be an All-Star before long, but we couldn’t know that he would put it all together to become such a dominant all-around player. This acceptance speech was the defining moment of Durant’s monstrous season, and that’s why it starts the list.

Durant’s MVP Performance

The acceptance speech was the most heartwarming in recent memory, but don’t let it overshadow just how brilliant Durant was last year. He led the league in minutes played and scoring while coming dangerously close to another 50-40-90 season.

He attacked the hoop relentlessly, getting to the line 100 more times than any other player in the NBA. With his point guard missing 36 games, Durant stepped up as a facilitator and set a career high in assists.

The ridiculous stat line (32.0 points, 7.4 rebounds and 5.5 assists) doesn’t even capture just how important Durant was for OKC. He did absolutely everything for the Thunder, and this highlight reel is just one of many that captures some of his wizardry.

Russell Westbrook Taking Over

Regardless of your feelings on Russell Westbrook as a basketball player, you cannot deny that he is one of the most entertaining players in the league. He plays with unrivaled passion and energy, and he’s also one of the most impressive athletes we’ve ever seen.

What do you get when you combine the two? The juicy goodness we see in the video. There isn’t anything more electrifying than watching Westbrook throw down a vicious dunk in the Chesapeake Energy Arena, driving thousands of fans into delirious joy and energizing the entire building.

Westbrook will be taking on even more responsibility without Kevin Durant to start the season. Whether that’s a good thing in terms of basketball success remains to be seen, but you definitely don’t want to miss out on what will be a highlight reel of amazing plays.

Reggie Jackson Saves OKC in Memphis

All eyes will be on Reggie Jackson this season for a number of reasons. For starters, he’ll be a restricted free agent next summer if he doesn’t sign an extension before Halloween. More importantly, he’s the third-best offensive player in OKC and has the skills to emerge as the third option the Thunder so desperately need. He did so in flashes last year, including Game 4 of the series against the Memphis Grizzlies (highlights of which are shown above).

That game was a perfect example of why Jackson is so important for this team. With the Memphis defense locked in on Durant and Westbrook, the dynamic duo struggled in a big way, shooting a combined 11 of 45 for 30 points while turning it over 12 times.

The Grizzlies were daring anybody else on the team to beat them, and Jackson stepped up in a huge way. He poured in 32 points in a range of diverse ways (as shown above). He got to the rim at will but also showed off a high basketball IQ, craftiness with his dribble and a reliable pull-up jump shot.

Jackson will need to take another step in his development if the Thunder are to stay afloat without Durant. These highlights are a reminder of just how good he can be. He now has to fill that role on a more regular basis.

Anthony Morrow’s Devastating Shooting Stroke

Anthony Morrow isn’t a jack-of-all-trades. He’s a master of one—shooting the basketball—and that skill is going to open up this OKC offense and take it from explosive to terrifying. Last year (especially in the playoffs), we saw opposing defenses sag off the likes of Thabo Sefolosha to make sure that Durant and Westbrook were unable to get all the way to the hoop.

In those situations, defenders were faced with the easy choice of letting Sefolosha wind up and hoist a three-pointer or allowing Durant/Westbrook to finish around the rim. With Anthony Morrow on the court, that will become a lose-lose scenario for the defense.

If you don’t help, OKC will be happy for its stars to keep getting into the paint. If you do help, Morrow will make you pay from beyond the arc. He’s a 43 percent three-point shooter over the course of his career, and he can change games when he gets hot. You can see this in the above clip of him shredding the Minnesota Timberwolves for 42 points, a total which included eight threes.

Morrow will get more open looks than he knows what to do with in OKC, and judging from the film, that’s bad news for his opponents.

Mitch McGary’s Enticing Skill Set

More than a few eyebrows were raised when OKC selected Mitch McGary in the first round of the 2014 NBA draft, but those doubters were forced to reconsider things after he was one of the better players in the Orlando Summer League.

It wasn’t just his box scores, although the 18-point, 13-rebound performance shown above certainly doesn’t hurt.

What stood out the most was McGary’s well-rounded offensive game. From mid-range jumpers to leading the break, McGary can do it all. His spot in a crowded frontcourt rotation is still unclear, but he’ll quickly become a fan favorite.

The Return of Serge

The San Antonio Spurs were the most dominant team we’ve seen in the NBA for quite a while, but they were tested by the Thunder in the playoffs. After two blowout losses to open the Western Conference Finals, Serge Ibaka made an unexpected return from injury and lifted the spirits of his teammates.

He made shots, but his defensive impact had never been so tangible. In the preceding games, the Spurs were getting whatever shots they wanted at the rim. With Ibaka back in the mix, none of those shots existed any more.

Durant and Westbrook steal the headlines, but Ibaka is as good a two-way big as there is in the league. His play against the Spurs (and more importantly, the team’s play without him against the Spurs) is evidence of that.