As the sports world grinds to a complete halt fans are left to find creative ways to get their fix of their favorite pastimes. One way to do that is to look back and remember past players, games, performances and seasons. With that idea in mind, here are the 10 best individual seasons in Oklahoma City Thunder history.
A couple things before we dig in. We wanted to keep the list to seasons that actually took place in Oklahoma City, so there won’t be anything from the Seattle days. One consequence of that is that the list will be dominated by Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. But that’s okay because what that duo did in OKC is nothing short of spectacular.
Finally, rather than taking the subjective approach of ranking these seasons, we’ll simply go through them in chronological order. We’ll leave it up to you to do the debating on which individual season is the greatest in franchise history. Let’s jump in.
Kevin Durant, 2009-10
30.1 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 2.8 APG, 1.4 SPG, 1.0 BPG
After a rough first season as the Thunder in 2008-09, the team exploded to a 27-win improvement and a playoff berth the following season, thanks largely to the efforts of Durant.
Durant led the team in both scoring and rebounding while playing all 82 games, carrying the Thunder to a 50-win season. He also claimed the NBA scoring title and earned his first All-Star berth, showing signs of the player he would become.
The Thunder would lose in the first round of their first playoff appearance in Oklahoma City, but Durant set the stage for an impressive run for the franchise in the years to come.
James Harden, 2011-12
16.8 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 3.7 APG, 1.0 SPG
A couple things here. First, we could have easily filled nearly this entire list with Durant’s years in Oklahoma City, and he will get his fair share of recognition in this article, but we wanted to mix it up a bit. Second, Harden obviously went on to bigger things in a different uniform, but it was this season where he really started to show his abilities as a scorer despite deferring to Durant and Russell Westbrook.
After seeing another improvement in wins in the 2010-11 season and earning a trip to the Western Conference Finals, this season’s team actually took a step back in the win column but took the more important step forward by advancing to the NBA Finals.
While Westbrook and Durant powered the show, the emergence of secondary options like Harden and Serge Ibaka was huge for the Thunder. For the first time in his career, Harden averaged 10+ field goal attempts per game and posted a sizeable rise in his FG%, from 43.6% the season before to 49.1%. He also posted a career-best 3-point percentage of .390, and his emergence helped the Thunder get within three games of claiming the NBA title.
Kevin Durant, 2011-12
28.0 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 3.5 APG, 1.3 SPG, 1.2 BPG
With the emergence of Harden as a legitimate third scorer, Durant’s scoring numbers dipped slightly from his 2009-10 numbers, but he posted what were then career-highs in rebounds per game and assists per game. Also, despite the slight dip in scoring, Durant led the league in that category for a third straight season.
Durant was spectacular in the Finals against LeBron James and the Miami Heat, pouring in 30.2 points per game while shooting 54.8 percent from the field and 39.4 percent from 3. In that series, he also added 6.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.0 blocks. Ultimately it wasn’t enough as the Thunder came up short, but Durant put on a great show, adding another All-Star selection and an All-Star Game MVP to his list of accolades.
Kevin Durant, 2013-14
32.0 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 5.5 APG, 1.3 SPG
By now, Durant had established himself as one of the best players in the league and he continued to show why during this season. He scorched the league to the tune of 32.0 points per game, winning the scoring title for the fourth time in five years and claiming his first MVP award.
His 5.5 assists per game are his highest total as a member of the Thunder, and he shot 50.1% from the field. The Thunder won 59 games and advanced to the Western Conference Finals for the fourth straight season.
Russell Westbrook, 2014-15
28.1 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 8.6 APG, 2.1 SPG
2014-15 was a step back for the franchise, as the Thunder won 45 games and narrowly missed the playoffs. But it wasn’t all bad news. Russell Westbrook exploded, having the first of what would become normal seasons for him.
Not only did he overtake Durant as the leading scorer for the Thunder, but also for the top scorer in the league, taking home his first scoring crown. He set what were at the time career-highs in assists and rebounds, and his 2.1 steals per game still stands as the best mark of his career.
Overall, it was a disappointing season for the Thunder, but Westbrook’s step forward ramped up the excitement for the future.
Kevin Durant, 2015-16
28.2 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 5.0 APG, 1.0 SPG, 1.2 BPG
Durant re-emerged as the team’s leading scorer in 2015-16 while also leading the team in rebounding. The Thunder bounced back from a down 2014-15 to win 55 games and appeared in the conference finals for the fifth time in six years. The season ended in bitter disappointment, and we didn’t know it at the time, but we had seen Durant in a Thunder uniform for the last time. As such, we are left with one of the great “what ifs?” of recent NBA history.
Things ended on a sour note between Durant and the franchise, but his eight-year run in Oklahoma City was one of the most impressive we have ever seen.
Russell Westbrook, 2016-17
31.6 PPG, 10.7 RPG, 10.4 APG, 1.6 SPG
With Durant off on other endeavors, there was no doubt this was now Westbrook’s team and he took advantage. All he did was become the first player since Oscar Robertson in 1961-62 to average a triple-double for a season, claiming the MVP award in the process.
There’s not a whole lot we need to say here. Not only was this one of the best seasons in Thunder history, it was one of the best in the history of the NBA.
Russell Westbrook, 2017-18
25.4 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 10.3 APG, 1.8 SPG
After his historic 2016-17 campaign, what could Westbrook do as an encore? How about a near repeat and another season-long triple-double?
The scoring numbers came down a bit with Paul George joining the mix, but Westbrook still led the team in scoring and repeated his historic feat from the previous season, with his 10.3 assists leading the league.
Much like his 2016-17 season, Westbrook’s ’17-18 season stands among the best in NBA history, not just that of the Thunder.
Paul George, 2018-19
28.0 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 4.1 APG, 2.2 SPG
Honestly, we considered a few options here in lieu of George’s 2018-19 season. Steven Adams’ 2018-19 campaign (13.9 points, 9.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.5 steals, 1.0 blocks, 59.5 FG%) was considered in an effort to recognize some other contributors to the franchise, as were some of Serge Ibaka’s contributions. But with the parameters being largely statistically based, it was too hard to not acknowledge George here.
His 28 points per game and ranked second in the NBA to a familiar face, James Harden. George taking over Durant’s role on the Thunder never produced the results that were hoped for, and his time in Oklahoma City was short, but his 2018-19 season was one for the books and worthy of recognition.
Russell Westbrook, 2018-19
22.9 PPG, 11.1 RPG, 10.7 APG, 1.9 SPG
With George’s scoring numbers rising, Westbrook’s scoring took another dip to his lowest average since the 2013-14 season, but he posted career-highs in rebounds and assists and once again led the league in the latter category. He also repeated his season-long triple-double feat, accomplishing for the third time something that had been done only once before he came around.
Both Westbrook and George would both be in a different uniform after their impressive 2018-19 seasons, ushering in a new era of Thunder basketball. But Westbrook’s run from 2010 to 2019, and especially from 2016-19, is something Thunder fans can cherish.
