Wednesday, September 8, 2010

The Face of the NBA.


The Oklahoma City Thunder is a blueprint of  the way to build up a franchise in a very short amount of time. All the way from their GM Sam Presti to their star studded line up on the court the organization is run amazingly. For a state mainly recognized for their college football the Thunder have now taken over.

I know Michael Jordan comparisons seem to be thrown around these days, but for the NBA's youngest scoring champion in Kevin Durant it can't be avoided. Durant sweats class in more ways than one. On the court he is humble, always putting his team before himself and off the court he is a soft spoken gentlemen. Barely one headline was raised this offseason when Durant went on with business and signed a 5 year contract extension worth a reported $86 million. No, he didn't need an absurd  30 minute ESPN special. He simply signed his contract and went on to help his country play in Turkey, unlike some.

The NBA's focus in the next season is going to shift to Durant and away from Lebron. After his ill advised "Decision" to go to Miami, OKC's Durant appears the perfect poster boy. Let's face it loyalty is a trait we want our kids to learn, we don't want them to adopt an egotistical personality and Durant is currently a perfectly marketable sportsman. With the majority of sports fans unhappy with Lebron's "Decision" it seems his gig being the NBA love child may be up.

OKC are definitely the bandwagon team of the last few years. They seem to be the Bulls of the 90's, it is very hard not to love them. This year they are more than capable of making a good title run. Although for this to happen they need some of the younger players such as Harden and Maynor to step up and help the superstars in KD and Westbrook. Putting aside some serious injuries expect them to make the West finals and make a serious game of it. Durant and Westbrook are gaining more and more experience as the days go. They are the future of the NBA and wow is it a bright one.

Come April and May lets hope we can see the Ford Centre packed to the rafters shouting BEAT LA!!

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