Oklahoma City Thunder : Starting To Get National Respect
It’s officially time to get excited.
Now that the Thunder’s schedule has been released, we can start planning ahead for how we’ll be spending the 15 nights this season when Oklahoma City will be playing on national TV.
Yes, 15.
I counted.
It’s about time this team got some attention. They were one of the more entertaining teams in the NBA to watch last season, reaching the playoffs for the first time since the infamous move to The Sooner State, knocking the socks off of anyone who tuned into the series against the eventual Finals champion Los Angels Lakers.
For those that missed out, there will be more than enough opportunities to see the razzle and dazzle of an up and coming team this season.
No more flying under the radar. No more anonymity.
They open the season at home against the upstart Chicago Bulls and highlight a November 19 matchup against the 2002 All-Stars/Boston Celtics on ESPN.
In the span of a week and a half in January, reigning scoring champion Kevin Durant will go head to head with the likes of Dirk Nowitzki, Dwight Howard, and Kobe Bryant, all on TNT.
Things are happening for this team, and the higher-ups are starting to notice.
They close out February with three more ESPN and ABC games against the Spurs, Magic, and Lakers.
The momentum behind the Thunder began to pick up speed prior to last season as many experts began to notice the development of Durant, Jeff Green, and Russell Westbrook and deemed them a popular sleeper pick.
The phrase "popular sleeper pick" may be an oxymoron, but it works in this case.
After locking up the eighth-seed in one of the tightest conference races in history and playing their hearts out in the postseason, the excitement around this team has never been more intense
Throw in a solid draft and impressive summer league showings and there’s plenty of reason for the nation to follow one of the NBA’s premier developing teams.
Luckily for the rest of America, they’ll have plenty of chances to.
