OKC Thunder Vs. New Orleans Hornets: The NBA's Proverbial Grudge Match
When the Oklahoma City Thunder laces up their sneakers to play the New Orleans Hornets, it becomes a game of old vs. new. Oklahoma City's first love in NBA Basketball, The New Orleans Hornets vs. this decade's favorite-young, up and coming team of destiny, The Oklahoma City Thunder.
Kevin Durant has taken the place of Chris Paul as a fan favorite in The City. Fans in Oklahoma City still love Chris Paul without a doubt, but Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Jeff Green and Company, are one of the most exciting teams to watch in the NBA bar none, and they have replaced the former New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets as the true fan favorite.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have burst into the national spotlight with the help and support of its' loyal and adoring fans. The Thunder have also benefited from being one of the exclusive NBA teams to have a sister team in the NBA Development League. The Tulsa 66ers have been used to develop players and get them ready for the rigorous competition in the NBA that The Thunder players will inevitably have to face night-in and night-out.
Chris Paul is a perennial NBA ALL-Star, but so is Kevin Durant. Kevin Durant currently has slightly more star quality and fan appeal than Chris Paul based on the amount of votes for the NBA All-Star game that each has received. But Chris Paul has the heart of a lion, competes extremely hard every night regardless of who he's up against. Paul is one of the best true point-guards in the world, and basketball fans in Oklahoma City will always love him as a result.
The Hornets have a well-known team and sport a starting-five of Chris Paul, David West, Trevor Ariza, Emeka Okafor, and Marco Belinelli, they're a well-coached team led by first-year coach Monte Williams. The Oklahoma City Thunder counters that with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, the NBA's proverbial Batman and Robin. Complimented by the likes of Jeff Green, one of the most underrated power forwards in the league, Thabo Sefolosha - one the best shut-down two-guards in the league, wily veteran Nenad Krstic, and a host of other complimentary players and fan favorites.
You put all of this together on a Friday night in The Big Easy or in The City, and you have the NBA's best proverbial "grudge match." And it usually doesn't matter what each team's record is, because these two teams battle in what amounts to a hotly contested, tough and physical basketball game among two of the NBA's premiere teams.
Now throw in Oklahoma City Thunder fans, and the euphoric excitement and buzz going on in The City over this team. The Oklahoma City Thunder are a small-market team in a small-market city, paying big dividends to their owners by selling out nearly every game with over 18,000 loyal fans, twelfth best in the NBA. Undoubtedly one of the best fan bases in the entire NBA.
The Hornets, by stark contrast, average around 13,000 fans per game, are ranked 29 out of the 30 teams in the NBA in total average attendance, and play in an even smaller-market, New Orleans, Louisiana. The difference in the buzz and fan appeal of the two teams is like night and day. The New Orleans Hornets have great fans and that city as a whole has shown a lot of courage in fighting, rebuilding, and piecing together their lives since Hurricane Katrina devastated the area in 2006.
As most people in The City know, the Hornets played their home games during the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons in Oklahoma City, when Hurricane Katrina reared its' ugly head upon their city, forcing everyone to evacuate. During this time, The New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets were embraced by basketball fans in Oklahoma City as they proved to NBA Commissioner David Stern that basketball would be a viable entertainment option in OKC by selling-out practically every game that was played there.
But anyone who has ever visited New Orleans knows that the Hornets are not the only hot ticket in that town. They have to compete against the reigning Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints, their superstar quarterback Drew Brees, and their controversial media sensation and former Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush.
There is also the city of New Orleans, aka The Big Easy, sitting right smack dab in the middle of it all, and drawing people from all over the nation to the mischievous confines of Bourbon Street and the French Quarter.
Anyone who has ever experienced the city of New Orleans during a Mardi Gras or Essence Music Festival, will always appreciate the unique atmosphere that greater New Orleans always has to offer.
Flip the script. I am now driving up I-35 from Norman, a few minutes south of Oklahoma City. I have just witnessed one of the best college football rivalries in the nation. Bedlam. OU vs. OSU, arguably one of the best college football rivalries in the nation. As we approach Bricktown and Downtown, we see the Chesapeake Boathouse, Olympic training ground for the sport of rowing, and home of The USA World Rowing Challenge in 2006.
Venture on in North another few miles, toward Downtown to the central part of the city. Now, if you are originally from Oklahoma City, you refer to this town as "The City." People who are not originally from here will call it OKC, or Oklahoma City. But make no mistake about it, this is the home of other national celebrities such as Blake Griffin, Wes Welker, Toby Keith and Garth Brooks, sitting on top of the list for The Who's Who in the business world of sports and entertainment.
So now the game between The Oklahoma City Thunder and The New Orleans Hornets has become the consummate grudge match in the NBA and is a thrill for any true sports fan to witness. Oklahoma City vs. New Orleans, and The Thunder vs. The Hornets. The City's former team going-up up against the City's present team. Westbrook against Paul. Durant against Ariza, Green against West, Sefolosha against Belinelli, and Ibaka against Okafor. The game gives bragging rights to whichever team can claim the victory.
The game, yes, what about the game. Well on this illustrious Fall night in New Orleans, Louisiana, The Oklahoma City Thunder claimed bragging rights in The City by defeating The New Orleans Hornets by a score of 97-92. Russell Westbrook had a double-double with a game-high 29 points and 10 assists. Kevin Durant had 25 points, five rebounds and six assists to propel The Oklahoma City Thunder to victory.
Serge Ibaka had 18 points and nine rebounds. Jeff Green had 13 points and a game-high of 8 rebounds. The Hornets' All-Star power forward David West, led New Orleans with 24 points and 13 rebounds. All-Star point-guard Chris Paul was nothing short of spectacular and finished with 18 points, seven assists, and five steals. But neither of these two star's exploits were enough on this night as The Oklahoma City Thunder claimed victory in this grudge match.
This game was everything a grudge match was supposed to be and fans inevitably got their money's worth by watching this game. Each game from here on out will get progressively more entertaining and will be a must see regardless of which city it is played in.
