The 2010–11 Oklahoma City Thunder season was the 3rd season of the franchise's existence in Oklahoma City as a member of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The franchise built on its prior success from the previous year, winning 55 regular-season games and reaching the Western Conference finals – in the process becoming the second-youngest team ever to do so.
In the playoffs, the Thunder defeated the Denver Nuggets in five games in the First Round, and the Memphis Grizzlies in seven games in the conference semi-finals, before losing to the eventual NBA champion Dallas Mavericks in five games in the conference finals.
Previous season The Thunder finished the 2009–10 season 50–32 to finish in fourth place in the Northwest Division, eighth in the Western Conference and qualified for the playoffs. The Thunder made it to the playoffs for the first since the franchise moved to Oklahoma City but were defeated 4–2 against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Offseason
Draft picks
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College/club team 1 18 Eric Bledsoe SG Kentucky 1 21 Craig Brackins PF Iowa State 1 26 Quincy Pondexter SF Washington 2 51 Magnum Rolle PF Louisiana Tech Cole Aldrich, Tibor Pleiss, Latavious Williams, Ryan Reid
The Thunder had three first-round picks and one second-round pick entering the draft. The Thunder's 18th overall pick was originally acquired from the Miami Heat as a result of the Daequan Cook trade prior to the draft. The Thunder also acquired the 26th overall pick originally owned by the Phoenix Suns in the Kurt Thomas trade in 2007. In the second round, the Thunder acquired the 51st overall pick originally owned by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Etan Thomas trade. The Thunder traded their 2010 second-round pick in the Byron Mullens trade back in 2009.
On draft night, the Thunder made four trades to acquire a future first-round pick and draft rights to three players. The Thunder traded the draft rights to Eric Bledsoe, the eighteenth pick, to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for a future first-round pick. The Thunder traded cash considerations to the Atlanta Hawks for Tibor Pleiss, the thirty-first pick. The Thunder then traded a future second-round pick swap to the Miami Heat in exchange for draft rights to Latavious Williams, the forty-eighth pick. Finally, the Thunder traded Magnum Rolle, the fifty-first pick, to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for Ryan Reid, the fifty-seventh pick.
Two weeks later, the Thunder traded the draft rights to Craig Brackins, the twenty-first pick, and Quincy Pondexter, the twenty-sixth pick, to the New Orleans Hornets in exchange for the draft rights to Cole Aldrich, the eleventh pick, and Morris Peterson.
The Thunder ended 2010 NBA draft night and the conclusion of player acquisitions and transactions, with Kansas center Cole Aldrich, Brose Basket center Tibor Pleiss, Tulsa 66ers of the NBA D-League forward Latavious Williams, and Florida State forward Ryan Reid.
International participation
In February 2010, the USA National Basketball Team named Thunder players Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook to the 27-man national team roster for 2010–12. From July 19–24, 2010, Durant, Westbrook and Jeff Green each attended tryout camp in Las Vegas for inclusion on the 12-man USA National Team roster at the 2010 FIBA World Championship, to take place from August 28 to September 12, 2010, in Turkey. In late July, Durant, Westbrook and Green were each named to the narrowed 15-man USA Team roster, which participated in additional workouts August 9–16 in New York City. On August 15, 2010, Westbrook and Durant were named to the narrowed 13-man roster, which competed from August 17–20 in Madrid, Spain. On August 24, 2010, the final 12-man roster was effectively determined when USA Basketball member Rajon Rondo withdrew from Team USA. This made Durant and Westbrook the only members of Team USA from the same NBA squad. In addition, Thunder athletic trainer Joe Sharpe also traveled as a team assistant. Thunder players participating on other FIBA teams included Nenad Krstić (who was suspended for Serbia's first three games following a chair-throwing incident in a tune-up match against Greece at the Acropolis Tournament on August 19), and Tibor Pleiß for Germany.
At the 2010 FIBA tournament, Team USA won the championship game against Turkey, and Serbia ended the tournament in fourth place. Germany did not advance to the elimination-round phase of the competition. Durant was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, and was also a first-team All-Tournament selection. For his efforts, Durant was also awarded the 2010 Male Athlete of the Year award by USA Basketball.
Training The Thunder attended the Orlando Pro Summer League from July 5–9, 2010, during which the team won four games and lost one. No Thunder starters were assigned to Orlando; Harden, Serge Ibaka and Eric Maynor were the most experienced players on the summer roster. The Thunder also signed forward Marcus Lewis and guard Cliff Hammonds as free agents on the summer roster. Both Durant and Daequan Cook attended the event and participated in informal workouts. Harden averaged 17.5 points over five games, good for fifth in the summer league standings. Maynor averaged 5.0 assists over three games, good for fourth.
Front office and coaching changes Just before the end of the 2010 playoffs, the Thunder announced that the team had exercised extension rights on its contract with Coach Scott Brooks, keeping him under contract through the 2011–12 season. Under the contract, Brooks earns in excess of $1.5 million per season. Later, on July 22, 2010, the team announced signing its general manager Sam Presti to a multi-year deal, terms of which were not disclosed.
Assistant coaching and staff positions, however, changed over the summer. In late June, Thunder assistant coach Ron Adams took a similar position with the Chicago Bulls under their new head coach Tom Thibodeau. As of July, the Thunder had no immediate plans to directly replace Adams. On August 24, 2010, the Thunder added former international coach Maz Trakh as an assistant coach in charge of player development, in addition to confirming the retention of remaining assistant coaches Maurice Cheeks, Mark Bryant, Rex Kalamian, and Brian Keefe.
On July 19, 2010, Thunder Assistant general manager Rich Cho left to take the vacant general manager's position with the Portland Trail Blazers. Former Thunder Director of Pro Personnel Bill Branch also joined Cho in Portland. The Thunder subsequently promoted Troy Weaver to vice president/assistant general manager, Rob Hennigan to assistant general manager/player personnel, Paul Rivers to director of minor league operations and basketball technology and Brandon Barnett to director of minor league scouting and manager of minor league operations. At the same time, the Thunder announced the additions of Michael Winger as Assistant general manager for Legal/Administration, and David Vanterpool as a scout.
Promotion and media news In June 2010, Durant and teammate James Harden completed a week-long promotional tour of China sponsored by Nike. Durant was also unveiled as the featured athlete on the cover of EA Sports' video game NBA Elite 11.
On August 3, 2010, the Thunder announced a multi-year contract granting FOX Sports Southwest the exclusive rights to regional television broadcasts of Thunder games.
On August 26, 2010, the Thunder organization announced that it would exercise its right to re-open naming rights negotiations for the Ford Center, which effectively guarantees a name change for the facility in the near future.
Thunder players Durant, Krstić, and Thabo Sefolosha were featured on the October 19, 2010, cover of Sports Illustrated's 2010 NBA Preview edition, with an accompanying feature article by SI Correspondent Lee Jenkins.See
Season synopsis
Preseason The Thunder's pre-season training camp opened on September 28, 2010, with the temporary roster addition of guards Demond "Tweety" Carter, Jerome Dyson and Elijah Millsap, as well as center Longar Longar. Carter and Longar were subsequently waived and removed from the roster on October 15, 2010, after one pre-season appearance each. The Thunder's final two pre-season roster additions, Dyson and Millsap, were waived on October 20, 2010 – leaving the team roster at the required 15 members heading into the regular season.
Regular season The Thunder's playoff run in 2009–10 fueled early-season interest for 2010–11. The team's regular-season schedule, released on August 10, 2010, revealed fifteen nationally televised games, up from three in the previous year. The Thunder also ranked among the NBA's top five teams in new season ticket sales heading into the year. This was in addition to a 93% renewal rate for season tickets from the previous year, well above the NBA average of 80%.
The Thunder began their regular season at home against the Chicago Bulls with an Opening Night promotion that included outdoor entertainment, a new magazine publication, and a blue-attire theme. The Thunder won the opening game, 106 to 95.
The first two months of the season saw mixed, but generally positive results for the Thunder. Through December 10, 2010, the Thunder played a schedule which statistically ranked #5 in the NBA, and #3 in the Western Conference. Despite this, the team logged a .667 winning percentage over the period. Kevin Durant led the NBA in scoring over the period at 27.45 points per game, although he missed four games due to injury (the Thunder were 3–1 in those games). The early season was highlighted by strong performances by Russell Westbrook (who at 23.95 points per game improved his scoring average by almost 8 points per game compared to 2009–2010) and Serge Ibaka (who saw his playing time increase to over 27 minutes per game and was near the top of the league in blocks).
By the midway point in the season, the Thunder's cumulative team free-throw percentage stood at .83116, just slightly off the pace of the all-time NBA single-season record of .83186, set by the 1989–90 Boston Celtics. The team's three-point shooting, however, lagged behind other offensive categories; by early February, the team's cumulative three-point percentage was 32.8%, third-worst in the league. The Thunder's 27–14 record at the midpoint of the season was largely attributable to a potent offense (103.7 points per game, sixth in the NBA) making up for subpar defensive performance (102 opponents' points per game, 20th in the NBA). As of the All-Star break, the Thunder were rated #6 in the NBA's power ranking system, with a comparatively easy schedule over the remaining course of the season.
Through the first half of the season, the Thunder's rotation stayed relatively constant, with a starting five of: PG: Russell Westbrook SG: Thabo Sefolosha SF: Kevin Durant PF: Jeff Green C: Nenad Krstić
Except for periodic injuries, the starting rotation did not change until after the trading deadline on February 24, 2011. In various combinations, the Thunder generally used a nine-man rotation through January 2011, providing reserves Ibaka, Maynor, Harden and Nick Collison with significant playing time. During four games when Durant was out of the lineup with injury, the Thunder often utilized a lineup which simultaneously featured Green at the small forward spot with Ibaka at power forward, a combination featured more often as the early season unfolded. Starting with the January 28, 2011, game against Washington, shooting guard Daequan Cook began receiving significant minutes in the rotation, allowing the Thunder to substitute an entirely new second string on multiple occasions. This combination sparked some notable Thunder streaks, including the February 5 game against Utah and the February 15 game against Sacramento.