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Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
OKC Thunder jersey history No. 36 - Etan Thomas (2009-10)
The Oklahoma City Thunder (and the Seattle Supersonics before them) have 51 jersey numbers worn by the players who have suited up for the franchise since its founding at the start of the 1967-68 season. To commemorate the players who wore those numbers, Thunder Wire is covering the entire history of jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team. And while those Supersonics jerseys may not remain part of the franchise history should a new team be established in Seattle as was the case with the return of the Charlotte Hornets, they are part of the Thunder's history today. For this article, we continue with the 36th jersey number in the series, jersey No. 36, with two players in total having donned the jersey in the history of the franchise. The second of those players did so in the Oklahoma City Thunder era, big man alum Etan Thomas. After ending his college career at Syracuse, Thomas was picked up with the 12th overall selection of the 2000 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks. The Harlem, New York native spent his rookie season injured, and was dealt to the Washington Wizards in 2001, playing seven seasons with the Wiz before being dealt to OKC by way of the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2009. His stay with the team would span a single season, coming to an end when he signed with the Atlanta Hawks in 2010. During his time suiting up for the Thunder, Thomas wore only jersey No. 36 and put up 3.3 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference. This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Thunder jersey history No. 36 - Etan Thomas (2009-10)
USA Today
01-08-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
2024-25 Thunder player grades: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
The calendar has flipped to August, which means we've officially hit the low point of the NBA calendar. The next couple of months are the driest part of the year. Everybody has headed to vacation and awaits training camp to kick off the 2025-26 season. The Oklahoma City Thunder continue to enjoy their NBA championship. They had a historic 68-14 regular-season campaign that eventually led to the franchise's first title with a 2025 NBA Finals Game 7 win. They'll enter next season as a favorite to be a rare repeat winner. To reflect on their title run, Thunder Wire will conduct 2024-25 season grades for all 19 players who suited up for the squad at one point during the year. First up is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who won MVP and NBA Finals MVP: 2024-25 statistics: Advanced stats: Significant Percentile Finishes: Contract: Thoughts: Oh boy, where to even start? Let's just list off the major awards and accolades Gilgeous-Alexander won this past season. He won the MVP award, the Western Conference Finals MVP, the NBA Finals MVP and the scoring title. He was named to his third straight All-NBA First Team. Oh, and he brought home a championship ring. Every possible goal imaginable, Gilgeous-Alexander achieved this past season. It's one of the greatest individual campaigns the NBA has ever seen. Hovering around the top-five player conversations the last couple of seasons, he smashed through that ceiling and is now seen with the likes of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. Whenever you think Gilgeous-Alexander has finally reached his apex, he takes another step. This past season saw his best scoring campaign yet. The drive-heavy scorer upped his usage and was once again lethal from the mid-range. A resurgence of his 3-point shot helped him average nearly an eye-popping 33 points. He shot a career-high 5.7 outside attempts. Only six players have averaged at least 32 points on a 62-plus true shooting percentage. Gilgeous-Alexander joined a prestigious group filled with future Hall-of-Famers. Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry headline the rest of that exclusive club. At 27 years old, Gilgeous-Alexander has accomplished everything you could imagine in basketball. All in one season, too. He's the NBA's best scorer with a third straight 30-plus point campaign. His consistency is his best trait. But his peaks were also higher. Before last season, his career high was a modest 44 points. He broke that seven times this past season. Gilgeous-Alexander led the NBA in 20-point games, 30-point games, 40-point games and 50-point games. He passed the half-century mark twice for the first time in his career. He's reached the status of all-time great, where all the opposition can do is pray he doesn't have a superbly efficient scoring night. And then there's the playoffs. The deeper the Thunder got into the playoffs, the better Gilgeous-Alexander played. Any silly concerns of being a postseason dropper were completely silenced. He was the best player in a playoff series against three-time MVP winner Nikola Jokic. He led OKC to its first championship. The scoring numbers remained the same despite an uptick in intensity. That's not always the case with superstars. The celebrations continued into the offseason, too. After Gilgeous-Alexander paraded around downtown OKC, he received a handsome new supermax extension that'll make him the richest player in the NBA. As of now, at least. Then was named the NBA 2K26 cover athlete. He also won a couple of ESPY awards. The last two items may be trivial, but they show how this has truly been the Summer of SGA. For years, Thunder fans debated who the best player in franchise history was. The two candidates were Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. We now know the answer. It's the third candidate who usurped both franchise icons and wears the crown. Gilgeous-Alexander cemented his spot at the top of OKC with one of the greatest individual seasons ever, capped off with bringing home the Larry O'Brien trophy. Moving Forward: Just keep doing what you're doing. Conventional wisdom has finally caught up to just how dang good Gilgeous-Alexander is. A third straight season of perennial MVP performance has finally forced fans to put him in their top-five player conversation at the very worst. The scary part is, it's just the start. At 27 years old, Gilgeous-Alexander is in his prime. His arrow should only continue to ascend. He's now broken through as one of the NBA's best players fresh off a historic season and championship, ala Curry in 2015. It's now about maintaining that status. Expect Gilgeous-Alexander to flirt with another 30-point campaign this upcoming season. No reason not to. He's reached the status where you have to see him drop off first before you can predict it. The drive-heavy scorer will continue to fluster defenses and get to the lane. He can back you down in the post. He'll either finish through traffic or get to the free-throw line. If not on drives, Gilgeous-Alexander is deadly with his pull-up jumper. Ask Aaron Nesmith in the final minutes of Game 4 of the NBA Finals. The mid-range game has been resurrected thanks to the MVP winner. Everybody knows that's his spot and is unstoppable when he gets into a groove. Gameplanning against him is conceding 30 points from the top. Let's see if Gilgeous-Alexander can be a repeat MVP winner. He's slowly ascended the ladder from a fifth-place finish three seasons ago to runner-up to finally winning the award last year. Now it's about keeping his top spot. If the Thunder have another first-seed finish and he scores 30-plus points, there's a real chance he continues to climb the ranks of all-time greats with another MVP award. Final Grade: A-plus
Yahoo
31-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
OKC Thunder jersey history No. 35 - Al Carson (1973-74)
The Oklahoma City Thunder (and the Seattle Supersonics before them) have 51 jersey numbers worn by the players who have suited up for the franchise since its founding at the start of the 1967-68 season. To commemorate the players who wore those numbers, Thunder Wire is covering the entire history of jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team. And while those Supersonics jerseys may not remain part of the franchise history should a new team be established in Seattle as was the case with the return of the Charlotte Hornets, they are part of the Thunder's history today. For this article, we continue with the 35th jersey number in the series, jersey No. 35, with 11 players in total having donned the jersey in the history of the franchise. The second of those players did so in the Seattle SuperSonics era, big man alum Al Carson. After ending his college career at Oregon, Carson would go unselected in the 1973 NBA Draft, instead signing with the SuperSonics. It was his sole season in the NBA, the Oceanside, California native heading abroad afterward. During his time suiting up for the Sonics, Carson wore only jersey No. 35 and put up 2.6 points and as many rebounds per game. All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference. This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Thunder jersey history No. 35 - Al Carson (1973-74)
Yahoo
27-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
OKC Thunder jersey history No. 34 - Josh Huestis (2014-18)
The Oklahoma City Thunder (and the Seattle Supersonics before them) have 51 jersey numbers worn by the players who have suited up for the franchise since its founding at the start of the 1967-68 season. To commemorate the players who wore those numbers, Thunder Wire is covering the entire history of jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team. And while those Supersonics jerseys may not remain part of the franchise history should a new team be established in Seattle as was the case with the return of the Charlotte Hornets, they are part of the Thunder's history today. For this article, we continue with the 34th jersey number in the series, jersey No. 34, with 17 players in total having donned the jersey in the history of the franchise. The 15th of those players did so in the Oklahoma City Thunder era, forward alum Josh Huestis. After ending his college career at Stanford, Huestis was picked up with the 29th overall selection of the 2014 NBA Draft by the Thunder. He played all three seasons of his NBA career with OKC, leaving the league as a player in 2018. During his time suiting up for the Thunder, Huestis wore only jersey No. 34 and put up 2.5 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference. This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Thunder jersey history No. 34 - Josh Huestis (2014-18)
Yahoo
13-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
OKC Thunder jersey history No. 33 - Gordon Hayward (2024)
The Oklahoma City Thunder (and the Seattle Supersonics before them) have 51 jersey numbers worn by the players who have suited up for the franchise since its founding at the start of the 1967-68 season. To commemorate the players who wore those numbers, Thunder Wire is covering the entire history of jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team. Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) shoots over Oklahoma City Thunder forward Gordon Hayward (33) during the second half of their game Sunday, March 24, 2024 at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 118-93. And while those Supersonics jerseys may not remain part of the franchise history should a new team be established in Seattle as was the case with the return of the Charlotte Hornets, they are part of the Thunder's history today. Advertisement For this article, we continue with the 33rd jersey number in the series, jersey No. 33, with 17 players in total having donned the jersey in the history of the franchise. The 17th of those players did so in the Oklahoma City Thunder era, forward alum Gordon Hayward. After ending his college career at Butler, Hayward was picked up with the ninth overall selection of the 2010 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz. The Indianapolis, Indiana native would play the first seven seasons of his pro career with the Jazz, and also played for the Boston Celtics and Charlotte Hornets before he was dealt to OKC for his last season in the NBA in 2024. During his time suiting up for the Thunder, Hayward wore only jersey No. 33 and put up 5.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game. All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference. This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Thunder jersey history No. 33 - Gordon Hayward (2024)
