The OKC Thunder are in the midst of a pretty surprising season. Despite 35-year-old Chris Paul being the only All-Star on the team, they secured the 5th seed in the West with a record of 44-28 on the year.
But being in this position is nothing new for OKC and, if you look back, you’ll find a long history of stars who have come (and went) from the franchise. For whatever reason, the Thunder have been unable to hang onto their stars, despite how many have actually passed through their gates.
Perhaps nothing reflects this more than the connection 10 of the past 11 scoring champions share: they were, or have been, members of the Thunder.
Here’s the list, which includes the years they played for OKC, which includes James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony, and Kevin Durant.
Needless to say, OKC has gotten pretty lucky with their stars. KD, Russ, Harden, and Melo are all some of the greatest scorers basketball has ever seen. The fact that OKC had all of those guys at some point (and even three of them at once) is pretty insane.
Had these stars stayed together on the Thunder, it’s hard to say they wouldn’t have been a legitimate title contender this season.
Unfortunately, we’ll never get the chance to find out. But with a new cast that is outperforming expectations, they’re probably not too keen on complaining about their current situation anyway.
