Andrew Nembhard on Russell Westbrook:
“OKC was one of my favorite teams growing up, so definitely a fan of Russ”
2010s OKC were the perennial bridesmaids that everyone rooted for over the dynasties
Basically the opposite of what they’re becoming now lmao
2010s Durant is probably the most beloved superstar before Steph became Steph
Absolutely. I still remember the KD is not nice Nike ads. Was also one of my favorite shoes back then
So funny in hindsight because KD is clearly not nice
Those ads were one of the first red flags, it was kinda weird KD was offended that people thought he was nice. Similarly when it came out that he hated all his cool nicknames like The Durantula and Slim Reaper and wanted to be called “The Servant”.
More like ‘The Serpent’ 🐍
I can’t believe this is the first time i’ve heard this. That is just perfect.
Oklahoma brain rot on that one, jesus.
Loved those ads
Velvet Hoop!
KD really did irreparable damage to his career with that move. He would be one of the most beloved superstars and no doubt in my mind that OKC would have gotten over the hump eventually if he stayed. Now he’s a cheap ring journey man that people love to hate on
That Klay flamethrower game is really such a huge turning point for league history. If OKC beats GSW there, I think the Thunder are a better matchup for the Cavs. KD wins, stays in OKC, who knows how long they’re contending, Curry goes from a near-mt-rushmore player to just the best shooter, if KD gets another ring in OKC he probably climbs into top 10 convos. Just such a different future based on Klay going to sleep.
Backpack KD and the MVP speech was peak beloved KD
I have spent years hating KD and I can still go back to watch that MVP speech and cry like a baby. We wasn’t supposed to be here… fuck, it gets me.
Backpack KD 😢
Yeah because Westbrook Durant and Harden in this era of Twitter would not be the most hated team in the league. Heatles also helped because everyone wanted to see that team defeated.
If he didn’t blow that 3-1 lead in 2016, he takes out both Curry and LeBron en route to a title and becomes the darling of the entire league.
All of the people wanting to see the Warriors/Curry and LeBron fall would be eating it up, calling him the best player in the world.
Instead, he blew it, and then chose the hardest road.
no one wanted to see the warriors fail until KD joined them.
That’s a lie now😂😂😂The Warriors were hated in 2016. Curry was a villain until KD joined the Warriors then suddenly all the hate went to him and everybody loved Steph
eh, I don’t know about that. I will have nightmares about Klay in that series forever, but I never hated Curry, even when the NBA used the Breen double-bang call from that run against OKC for their app promo spot that ran about 2 million times. I hated Draymond, I hated Bogut, I hated Mo Speights because for some reason he turned into an all-star when we played them and wrecked us. But I always had nothing but respect for Curry.
Draymond was and still is a villain. The homegrown Warriors as a whole and Steph were not before KD.
This is easily the stupidest thing i’ve ever read on this sub.
I’ve been rooting against them ever since Draymond kicked Adams directly in the balls on purpose and claimed it was a natural shooting motion.
This is a huge lie
Perennial bridesmaids you say? Constant runners up throughout the years to teams with generational players you say?
Once KD left Russ was one of the most hated players in the league for a bit. That Harden Russ MVP race was toxic.
Man those early 2010s teams were so easy to love compared to this juggernaut they got now. KD and Russ had that scrappy underdog energy even though they were stacked, now it’s just straight up scary how good they are lmao
Speak for yourself
Funny cuz the 2012 OKC team definitely should have become a dynasty. If not for the other 2 dynasties that were dominating at the time.
2020s is probably the weakest decade by top heaviness. I don’t think the 2024 Celtics would even be a top 5 team of the 2010s.
The 2024 Celtics had a top five net rating ever, won 64 games, and ran a starting lineup where 5⁄5 players had at least one seasonal award selection in their career (All-Star, All-NBA, All-Defense, etc.). You’re underselling that team
Yeah this is weird revisionism to me, that team was stacked and constructed really well
It’s actually crazy that they only won one title. Heat really blocked them multiple times.
I know Tatum got injured last year but they were seconds away from being down 3-1 so they were likely done regardless.
Just bad luck with injuries and the cap situation. I don’t really consider the 2023 team the same as 2024 because Holiday and to a lesser extent Porzingis were such huge pieces in that playoff run.
Then in 2025 we had Porzingis’ weird illness, Brown’s meniscus tear, Jrue’s hand injury and shooting slump, and obviously Tatum’s Achilles combined with a post-title hangover that meant the Knicks were the harder-playing team throughout the series. The insane cost of that roster meant that with Tatum out for all of this season, they had to break it up.
Imagine saying that stacked Celtics team wouldn’t be top 5 when an old ass Celtics team almost knocked out Miami Bron 😂😂😂
Ok let me try:
I don’t see how the 2024 Cs are better than any of these in a 7 game series.
I think the NBA teams get so much better every year in terms of talent, offensive/defensive schemes, and knowing how to put together a competitive roster that yeah, 2024 Celtics are beating all of those teams in a 7 game series. If the question is “how good is X team relative to their competition” that’s another thing, but in an absolute sense the newer teams are always gonna have an edge just because we keep optimizing the fuck out of the sport.
Similarly, in an absolute sense, I think this OKC team is poised to be one of the best of all time.
The only correct way to do it is to look at how good they were relative to their competition.
Doing things in an absolute manner is heavily biased towards the present day.
Otherwise you get stuff like “Tyrese Maxey is better than Jerry West.”
You don’t think the 24 celtics wouldn’t beat the 2018 Rockets? Really? They dealt with a backcourt of Luka and Kyrie, they’d handle Harden and CP3 just fine.
Actually now that I think about it more, maybe I’m overrating the 2018 Rockets.
Rose-tinted lenses for me because watching the 2018 Rockets take the KD Warriors to 7 was a very special experience for me.
2017 Warriors - No chance
2014 Spurs - I actually think it could go either way. That Spurs roster is fondly remembered for beating the Heatles to a pulp, but also got taken to G7 by a mediocre Mavs team and could’ve lost to the Thunder had Serge not missed the first two games
2018 Rockets - Rockets are favored because of top-end talent, but I think the 2024 Celtics were on that same level
2012 Miami - Again, could go either way. The LeBron Heat had some dodgy playoff performances against very old Celtics teams and the PG Pacers
2017 Cavs - Cavs are clearly favored, but the version of the East they stomped through was as depressed as that conference has ever been
you could make a case for them over the 2017 cavs, who were a bottom 10 defense even with bron receiving his last career dpoy votes, and whose best playoff series win was probably a sweep of the raptors, who lost kyle lowry midway through game 2. the celtics team they actually did drop a game to was led in scoring by avery bradley and jae crowder, and they got a bit lucky with the pacers sweep - their biggest win that series was by six points.
undeniably impressive run, but the kind where people start defending it with the “you can only beat the teams in front of you” argument, which is objectively correct but still reflects a lack of total dominance, yknow.
We just gotta agree to disagree fam
Okay? If you pick one title team from each decade there’s a good chance they wouldn’t be top 5 in another decade… Considering there’s 10 title winners each decade…
Hmm, idk. I would be very surprised if the 2024 Celtics don’t finish as a top 3 team this decade.
At worst.
I think you can argue 2020 Lakers and 2023 Nuggets belong in the same conversation as the 2024 Celtics. Celtics definitely clear 2021 Bucks and 2022 Warriors. Celtics didn’t have that hard of a path and they beat in a team in the Finals that was hardly ready to be there and got dragged there by a single player. There’s also 5 champions we have yet to know… So claiming they’re top 3-5 at worst is kinda wild.
It’s weird that you’re underrating them when compared to 2010s champions yet overrating them when comparing to 2020s champions.
He’s comparing them to teams that haven’t even won shit lol.
I mean, they’re arguably the strongest title team of the decade so far. Nuggets and Lakers had better top end talent but less depth. I’d take the Celtics in 6-7 over both of them. Thunder had an incredible regular season but struggled in the playoffs and would have probably lost to a team the Celtics swept the previous year. Warriors and Bucks are definitely a tier below.
It’s hilarious that okc fans think them being in okc is why nobody cares or watches them, I get fan bias but how do they not understand that Westbrook and durant ( and harden for a bit) are just far more entertaining to watch then anyone on their current team? They’re a great , maybe the greatest ever defensive team relative to era, but they just aren’t that dynamic or exciting on offence- despite what okc fans tell me about jaylen williams the C and hartenstein passing to cutters .
Even if you swapped records - people would still like or watch love to hate a dominant 70win kd Russ group. But combining current okc play style and dominance in blowouts - just no way anyone is excited. I’ve never seen a near 70 win team be so low in a league pass ‘ranking ‘ of fun teams to watch
Is “nobody” in the room with us right now? Lmao.
Bruh, our games become boring because they’re basically over by the end of the 3rd. I wish we had more exciting endings too so tell your favorite team to stop sucking so much. It’s not our fault the competition can’t compete.
What’s the solution then? Should the Thunder intentionally play worse to make the games more competitive? It’s fine to dislike the Thunder, everyone’s entitled to their opinion. But to say the dominant team is the boring one, and not the team getting dominated, is an insane take.
im here for the Russ appreciation
never met a athlete who didn’t like russ. he stays hard from start to finish. ive never seen him take a possesion off ever
Russ’ effect on the city during his MVP year was all but tangible. He was our cute friend when we got dumped in the most embarrassing way by the hot girl we thought we’d never see the caliber of again. I should call her..
Edit: Oh wait, but now we’re married to a baddie
wish yall signed him as a vet
There’s still time!!
Russell Westbrook is the definition of endless energy on the court and giving all of you’ve got, he got so many fans because of that.
he’s never quit. ever.
KD really shat the bed in 2016 and then blamed his team for not being good enough
Russ was carrying the offense meanwhile KD was checked out mentally I guess
As a former thunder fan because I follow Russ everywhere, I can’t believe Presti only now decides to construct the perfect surrounding pieces around his new stars. Russ and KD literally had serge ibaka and that’s about it. Presti consistently surrounded the stars with zero shooting and mild defense. They really carried whatever group they was given and I heavily envy this new thunder team because of that.
Not to mention he threw away James harden for genuinely nothing. Also his draft picks while Russ and KD were there, TRASH. Except for Steven Adam’s.
Presti didn’t decide to swing and miss on all those shooters, he just couldn’t hit on those shooters for like 4 years straight. Now he can’t miss lol.
Yea whatever Lol. Thats just unbelievable to me. We would talk about KD, Russ and harden much differently if he was slightly more competent during their time. He also fired Scott brooks…
Experience is very important. Fucking up is one thing but learning from them is what separates you. Presti said never again
I blame Troy Weavers influence for the tall dudes who can’t shoot phase OKC went through. But it’s not like OKC didn’t try to get some shooters, most of them just didn’t pan out or were such negative defenders that they weren’t worth playing. Plus the twin towers lineup with Adams and Kanter is a big reason OKC beat the 67 win spurs in the first place. Pace and space wasn’t really being pushed heavily back then either so it isn’t super crazy that Presti was still building an early 2010’s team. It was a bad KD performance away from being a finals team and potentially a champion. It’s easy to say now what flaws it had but that roster over performed like mad even with KD being pretty shit in those playoffs.
As for the draft picks being shit, yeah that’s kinda what happens when you’re picking 28th every single year. Very few teams even get an NBA player in that range. Id say getting Reggie Jackson and Steven Adams is still pretty good for that time span.
Also OKC would’ve probably won at least one ring if they didn’t suffer season ending injuries to their stars almost every year after Harden until 2016.
Absolutely. They consistently went after “project” players who they thought they could turn into 3-and-D guys. It’s not a coincidence that the draft hit rate completely turned around when Weaver left.
Would explain Presti’s athletic long boy with potential phase
He probably improved as a GM over the years and maybe added a few guys to his FO team. Aside from that, the Clippers trade was a massive part of their success. Obviously not only he managed to get that deal, but also built a great team aside from that and also drafted well, but that trade probably halved their rebuilding time. I mean they got like SGA, JDub and a bunch of other picks from that.
He also got rid of Troy Weaver who is currently ruining the Pelicans.
They did have pretty bad luck though to be fair. He maybe didn’t get the shooters but that injury to Andre Roberson really screwed them. He was one of the best defenders in the league before that injury. And it wasn’t as easy to find great shooters that you could rely on for an entire game those years.
Roberson is only one piece of the puzzle. Russ got taken out by Pat Bev in 2013 during the playoffs while the thunder were in the midst of a 60 win season and likely would’ve been the favorites. Next season Ibaka misses the first two playoff games against the spurs(they lost both) and then OKC loses in 6.
Season after that, KD has a season ending injury while Russ tries to carry the team to the playoffs(with a shit ton of other injuries).
They really only got one run where they were full strength post Harden. I don’t get why everyone gives them such shit for not winning it all with that core, like are we really gonna blame the front office for losing to a 73 win team after going up 3-1? After beating a 67 win team the round before? Because that was the only chance they really had at winning it all post Harden. Obviously injuries happen but multiple season ending injuries to your two all stars is just extremely bad luck.
Russ got taken out by Pat Bev in 2013 during the playoffs while the thunder were in the midst of a 60 win season and likely would’ve been the favorites
Say what you want about the Harden trade, and 99.999% of OKC fans would re-do it with a time machine, but that 2013 team had a better win pct than the Finals team with Harden.
But yeah, the injuries derailing the years between the Finals loss and GSW loss really sucked.
Saying he threw away harden for nothing and two sentences later mentioning Adams is funny
Yea ok Steven Adam’s is the one good thing that came out of it… he replaced Kendrick Perkins. They both are almost the same player. My point still stands very strongly. Talking about James harden for Steven Adam’s ur crazy.
The thunder teams had good talent, especially defensively. didnt have enough shooting. their 2016 run included beating a great great spurs team
It’s much easier to build a team when you have cap space and multiple first and second round picks to experiment and take chances on players. There were two years when we had surplus first rounders from the Harden trade, 2013 and we drafted Adams and Robes, and 2014 when we drafted McGary and Huestis. In 2010 we drafted Cole Aldrich, 2011 Reggie Jackson, 2012 Perry Jones, 2015 Cam Payne. We didn’t draft anyone of note in the second round.
It’s easier to find quality role players when you can swing multiple times at bat. People remember Chet and Dub and AJ Mitchell, but forget 2020 Poku Theo Maledon Vit Krejci, 2021 Giddey (traded for Caruso) Tre Mann James Robinson Earle Aaron Wiggins (our best player from that draft, in 2022 trading 3 firsts for Dieng in addition to J Will, in 2023 trading up for Cason, 2024 drafting Topic who might never play for the Thunder, trading a bunch of seconds for Dillon Jones (who I don’t think is in the league), and hitting on AJ Mitchell…
You look like you’re a great drafter and building a team when you can swing two dozen times on young players in a 6 year period. Cut those draft picks in half–keeping in mind we trading multiple surplus picks just to move up a couple of those times–who knows what the roster looks like. Maybe it’s only the best players left, but that’s not likely. The Presti during the Kd/Russ/PG years did not have the treasure chest of picks to take chances on players, in fact Presti traded away multiple first round picks to acquire the likes of Kanter and Jerami Grant, thus reducing his ability to add talent to the roster.
Tbf he at least never blamed Russ. Even on his burners. Just everyone else lmao.
Everybody loves Russ until he’s on your team and there’s a min left in regulation.
Oh wow a Lakers fan whining about Westbrook. Neat.
Oh yeah. You guys take him then.
He’s not even on your team anymore bud. You can stop tryna sell.
Just stating my opinion. It’s not a big deal.
The guy who led the league in clutch scoring and game winners his MVP year?
It’s not 2017 anymore.
Yeah duh but the thread is about Nembhard watching Russ on OKC
Y’all scapegoated Russ though. I mean the Lakers haven’t been on shit since you got rid of him
Growing up? Damn I’m old 😢
I just checked and Nembhard was born three years after I graduated high school. 👴
Cooper Flagg was 12 when Lebron won the bubble title lol
Jesus
I had to look that up he was 13, 2 months from turning 14… Forgive me if this was a joke…I knew the pandemic fucked with time but there is no way a 12 year 5 years ago is in the NBA
Damn you’re right my math was off a year. Still wild
Nembhrad just like me fr haha
“The bodies he buried laid the foundation of what we are today” - Sam Presti on Russ
Me too Drew
r/nba 9⁄11
My king
He say anything about Ryan yet? Or is he waiting for the Mavs to put belt to ass to this Pacers team?
I’m sure you’re neither fun nor hung.
Im sure hes said more things about Ryan than you have and will your entire life. You’re weird, actually weird.
No one was a fan of OKC.
How old are you? OKC w Durant was loved
at least people always cared about okc, hated or loved okc was always relevant. can’t say the same about the bulls for the past decade
Speak for yourself. We rooted for OKC over San Antonio, the Heatles, GSW and the Lakers
Big fan of OKC then and today. Russ/KD got me watching bball
Russ/KD era OKC was easily one of the most liked teams by fans of other franchises. OKC being a love/hate team now doesn’t change history.