The Oklahoma City Thunder had visions of a repeat title this season, sweeping the Suns and Lakers on their way to the Western Conference Finals, only to have their back-to-back dreams shattered by San Antonio in a brutal seven-game series. Their Finals repeat bid was buried before June even hit, with San Antonio marching on to face the Knicks for the whole thing while OKC packed their lockers early for the first time since they climbed this mountain. It was a gut punch nobody in OKC saw coming, and it has the whole league wondering if chasing history earlier in the season ultimately drained them when it mattered most.
Chasing the Shadow of Greatness
Remember when the Thunder kicked off their season? They were absolutely on fire. They ripped through the league, going 20-1, then 24-1, matching the Golden State Warriors’ insane pace from a decade ago, game for game. It felt like they were daring history itself. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander even stood at a podium in Vegas, telling reporters the record meant something to his group because winning matters “no matter what form it looks like.” They didn’t quite hit the record, but the intention was clear: they wanted to be the next legendary regular season team. And for a while, it looked like they might pull it off, even after falling short of the historical win total. They were still champs, and they looked every bit like the machine ready to run the league for the next five years, especially after they swept both the Suns and the Lakers.
The “Tax” of Greatness That Broke Their Back
But here’s the thing about chasing ghosts: if you don’t finish the job, the ghost chases you back. Dub Nation learned that lesson the hard way ten years ago. They ran a 73-9 season that nobody has sniffed since, chasing history for six straight months, only to fall short in the Finals when a 3-1 lead evaporated against Cleveland. Nobody remembers the 73 wins like they remember the collapse. That’s the tax. And this year, the Thunder got hit with it. San Antonio showed up and ruined everything in the Western Conference Finals. It’s tough, especially when the Thunder were missing their second-best player, who had dropped 40 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, for the entire series. Plus, they were without their best shot creator off the bench. Those are incredibly important pieces to be without when you’re going for a repeat.
It feels like OKC just joined a club nobody wants a membership card for. You build one of the best regular seasons we’ve seen in a long time, you sweep legitimate contenders, you look unstoppable, and then you still walk out of the postseason owing more than you won. The house always finds a way to collect, and it doesn’t care how many national titles you had in your eyes heading into the WCF.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Golden State of Mind.
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