Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are the two best players in the history of the Oklahoma City Thunder. The pair created a terrific duo that took the team to the 2012 NBA Finals, helped by James Harden and Serge Ibaka. After Harden left, they tried to replicate their success but could never achieve the big series again.
They had a great team that was always in the conversation for the title but they couldn’t get the job done. It wasn’t for lack of competitiveness, though, as Steven Adams, another incredibly beloved player for the Thunder’s fans, recently revealed they always tried to push each other and could even argue to take one another and the rest of the team to the next level.
Adams recently talked with JJ Redick on his “The Old Man and the Three” podcast, revealing how all the players on the Thunder barked at each other, especially KD and Russ and that’s what made them the great team they were.
“It was awesome for me. Russ, KD, Serge, and Perk, they were all going at it. They would argue like crazy. And that created a really competitive environment, there wouldn’t be a practice that would be soft. It was always intense. All of them were trying to beat the other one. It wouldn’t be fair for me to say who was alpha-leader, but it’s fair to say that it was a healthy team, if that makes sense. For some people that might not be healthy but they’ve got to the point right away. They were constantly making each other better. As a rookie I was all about it, I wanted to step up my game and play at that level. We’ve all wanted to be acknowledged, to be seen.”
Although some could fuel in that environment, not everybody was enjoying that. Adams revealed that not everybody was happy with the teams happening in OKC and that affected some players.
“Some players don’t respond well to that, they’re not upfront people. So when someone’s not showing their emotion and haven’t got an opinion about anything, then you really don’t know that guy. You don’t know how he reacts, you don’t know what is going to happen. You’re just waiting for him somewhere through the season to lose his mind, and then you know, he has like a couple of loose screws in there.”
That environment took that young team to the Finals, the only time the Thunder has been there since moving from Seattle. That could be harsh for some people but you can’t deny it worked in the end. The team reached the biggest series of all and even though they lost to LeBron James and the Big 3 Miami Heat, that Thunder team was very fun to watch.
They had more stars after that magical season, but they couldn’t find success, regardless of how hard they tried.
