Is this the best Thunder team ever?
Is this the best Thunder team ever? | Good Word with Goodwill
Yahoo Sports senior NBA reporter Vincent Goodwill and Yahoo fantasy basketball analyst Dan Titus discuss Oklahoma City's run to the Finals and whether this year's squad surpasses the 2012 or 2016 versions. Hear the full conversation on 'Good Word with Goodwill' and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen.
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I was thinking about it then last night as the Thunder clinched.
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First NBA finals since 2012.
That was Durant, Westbrook, Harden.
Last night was nine years to the day of the Klay Thompson game.
Game 6 of the 2016 Western Conference Finals.
Thunder were up 3-1, then they were up 3-2.
They had a chance to close out the 73 win Warriors at home, and then Klay Thompson went berserk.
That day led to all the events, I think that has happened.
To get them back here.
You lose Kevin Durant, you get Russell Westbrook, the MVP stuff and blah blah blah.
You get Carmelo, Paul George, and then those, those trades wind up netting you, Shay Gilge's Alexander.
Those other trades wind up netting you the draft picks that become Jaylen Williams and some of these other guys.
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This looks like the best Thunder team that I've seen, period.
It doesn't feel like it because you're like, man, that's Kevin Durant.
That's James Harden, that's Russell Westbrook over there.
I feel like this team, I don't know if they beat the brakes off the 2016 Thunder or the 2012 Thunder, but they beat them and I think they beat them good.
So which team do you think is better, 2012 or 2016 Thunder?
I would say 2012 because you do have James Harden who single-handedly put out the San Antonio Spurs in the, in the Western Conference Finals after going down 20.
But there's a better Kevin Durant in 2016, theoretically a better Russell Westbrook in 2016, but there's still the combustibility of both of those players in big moments, whereas you don't think Shay's not gonna melt down.
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J Doub's not gonna melt down.
Chet ain't gonna melt down, not in those big moments.
Yeah, I feel like the, I actually thought that the 2012 team was, was probably the best version of the Thunder at that point too.
I think offensively, the current iteration of the Thunder stack up pretty well against the 2012.
I'd say maybe you give a slight edge to the 2012 team.
But the difference on the defensive end to me is is is the stark difference for me of this current Thunder team.
And I think this Thunder team defensively is by far better than the 2016 and 2012.
So I think that this version of the Thunder is the best version that we've seen of the Thunder in the history of their franchise, and I think that will be cemented when they win the championship.
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