Thunder trace ties to tight-knit fan community to 1995 Oklahoma City bombing

USA Today

7 hours ago

Thunder trace ties to tight-knit fan community to 1995 Oklahoma City bombing Most Thunder players weren't born when the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was bombed 30 years ago. But everyone in the organization knows how the tragedy shaped the city.
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault was just 10 years old at the time of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995.
Just two players on the Thunder's roster had been born at that time – Alex Caruso had just turned 1, and Kenrich Williams was 4 months old.
But they all have knowledge of the crime and tragedy because every Thunder employee – from the business side to basketball operations, from first-round draft pick to a player on a two-way G League contract – visits and tours the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum.
'I was on that tour within a month of working here,' said Daigneault, who was hired as the franchise's G League coach in 2014. 'There's literally no one that's ever put a logo on their chest that has not been through there because it's just such a big part of the story of the city and the kindness, the compassion that the city has and this community has not only for the team but for one another.'
April 19 marked the 30th anniversary of the bombing, and the memorial and museum has conducted several events honoring victims and their families and sharing history. There is no question the bombing shaped the city and region, contributing to its resolve, strength and sense of community.
The memorial and museum are one mile north of the team's arena in downtown Oklahoma City, and about 500,000 people visit the sacred ground annually.
The memorial is marked by solemnity and a reminder of evil. On a recent morning, visitors walked through the outdoor portion of the memorial. At one end, the 9:01 Gate 'represents the innocence before the attack' – the bombing happened at 9:02 – and the 9:03 Gate 'symbolizes the moment healing began.'
The 168 chairs represent each of the people killed in the bombing, the survivor wall – a remnant from the explosion – and the survivor tree, 'a living symbol of resilience,' are part of the outdoor memorial.
Kari Watkins is the president and CEO of the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum and has had a significant role in creating a space that honors and teaches through a variety of storytelling methods, including interactive exhibits.
Watkins, one of USA TODAY's 2025 Women of the Year, was the memorial and museum's first employee. She said Thunder executive vice president and general manager Sam Presti reached out to her.
'I met with him, talked to him and took him through (the memorial and museum), and we've become good friends,' Watkins told USA TODAY Sports. 'He is more than a GM to me. He is a friend.'
Presti is on the memorial and museum's executive committee.
'We have this term called the Oklahoma Standard,' Watkins said. 'It was a term that (Tom) Brokaw coined the first night of his broadcast in 1995 talking about how Oklahomans were a little different. They were cowboy tough, they were resilient, they were strong, and they had set the standard he had never seen before. …
'I'll never forget one board meeting, I don't know, 10 years ago, eight years ago, Sam said, 'You guys take this for granted. You think everybody takes care of their neighbors.' Everybody steps up, and it says so much about the people of the city. They just go and do things. They serve others, they help others. And there's a kindness level here, and we've worked on that harder because of Sam's influence.'
OPINION: How Pacers coach Rick Carlisle helped Thunder GM Sam Presti break into NBA C-suite
USA TODAY Women of the Year: Pacers CEO Mel Raines relishes building community through sport
On Friday, June 6, Watkins led NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and Thunder owner Clay Bennett on a tour.
'I was telling the commissioner the reason I think it's so important is because we are starting to see the same dehumanization and hear the same anti-government rhetoric, and we're hearing all those same noises we heard in 1995, and we've got to stop it,' Watkins said. 'We've got to figure how to sit down and listen.'
Caruso, the Thunder's key reserve guard, started his professional basketball career with the Thunder's G League team in 2016. That's when he visited the memorial and museum for the first time.
'The cool thing about the organization is no matter how big, small, what your role is on the team, you make a trip out there just to learn about the history of it and how it did impact the community and understand why the relationship is so tight between this team and organization and the community,' Caruso said.
Said Watkins: 'What the perpetrators sought to do in 1995 was to divide our city. And if you're here, you see a city that's united. And so those were the lessons we learned, and we just want to keep, we're passing them on to thousands of school kids a year.
'But when you wear the words Oklahoma City on your jersey, you are an ambassador for your city. And so when they come through, they learn the story. Most of them don't know it. They weren't alive. And unless they've Googled it or seen it somewhere, they don't know the story.'
They now know the story, woven into the heart and soul of the city.
Follow NBA reporter Jeff Zillgitt on social media @JeffZillgitt