The Oklahoma City Thunder punched their ticket to the NBA finals after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dominated the playoff series from start to finish. He’s the league MVP and displayed his full scoring repertoire against the Minnesota Timberwolves. With OKC reaching the finals in 2012, we flip back the history books to find the number of times the Thunder reached the NBA Finals.
Sadly, after the franchise shifted its talents from Seattle to Oklahoma City, the team reached the NBA Finals just once in its storied history. But if you take the franchise as a whole, barring the location change, it enjoyed a few appearances.
Oklahoma City Thunder’s NBA Final Appearances in Their Rich History
Before the league relocated the franchise from Seattle to Oklahoma in 2007, the Seattle Supersonics had a pretty solid unit. Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp, Ray Allen, and Fred Brown stepped onto the court to showcase their skills. Thus, the Supersonics, technically the Thunder, boasted a storied NBA legacy.
Their first final came during the 1977-78 season when the Sonics faced the Washington Bullets. Despite Brown averaging 19.1 points and Marvin Webster dominating the paint with 13.9 rebounds and 2.6 blocks, the Supersonics stumbled to the Bullets, who won the series 4-3.
But they came back to the NBA Finals the following year, 1978-79, and won their first NBA title. Unlike the seven games the previous year, the Sonics handed a 4-1 drubbing to the Bullets, as Gus Williams scored 29.0 points in that series. Rebounding numbers like 14.8 per game from Jack Sikma helped the team to a landmark victory.
Following those glory years, they had a dry spell for a long time and managed a couple of Conference Finals here and there. They eventually returned to the big stage during the 1995-96 season. But when Michael Jordan gets going, you really can’t do anything but stand up and applaud his greatness.
The Supersonics put in a tough fight but took a beating from the Chicago Bulls, losing 4-2 in the series. Kemp and Payton tried hard to keep Jordan at bay, but it proved impractical. This championship was Jordan’s first after he retired from the game briefly, as he returned with unfulfilled ambition and determination.
Following that season, the Supersonics changed their team name to the Thunder and relocated their city from Seattle to Oklahoma. Thus, the 2012 series against the Miami Heat marked the last time they reached the finals.
With LeBron James in his prime, Dwyane Wade scoring points in bunches from the guard position, and Chris Bosh as one of the most feared forwards, the Thunder had little hope. Although they had Russell Westbrook, James Harden, and Kevin Durant, the Thunder couldn’t topple the Heat and lost 4-1.
Thus, it’s time for OKC to rewrite its history and add a second NBA championship. They have a 1-3 record in the NBA Finals, and SGA and Co. plan to reverse their fortunes against the Indiana Pacers.
