Oklahoma City Thunder 125 @ Golden State Warriors 136
Box score https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401469342
Attendance: 18,064
Oklahoma City Thunder 125 @ Golden State Warriors 136
Box score https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401469342
Attendance: 18,064
Thursday, April 6, 2023
Oklahoma City Thunder @ Utah Jazz
Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City
Bally Sports Oklahoma, 8:00 P.M.
Playing GSW is so annoying, omg. And we desperately need Chet for rebounding alone.
Anyway, play-in picture time. Dallas plays the Kings tonight, who might rest starters since they won last night and their seeding is basically set. That means Dallas could tie OKC tonight, but OKC holds tie breaker.
Light the beam.
For the season, the Thunder is last in the league in average home attendance and second to last in attendance as a percentage of capacity:
We need one win and one Dallas loss or two Dallas losses in the remaining games to make the play-in. We should beat the Jazz tomorrow to check off one of those boxes. If the Kings don't rest their starters, the Kings should easily beat Dallas, but if they rest starters, it's anyone's guess what will happen.
Last night's game against GSW just came down to a veteran team vs the youngest team in the NBA. We were with them until about 5 minutes left in the game and then we started making bad decisions, which happens with inexperience. Our rebounding is really bad, too, so Chet is going to be a massive help there.
I'm a season ticket holder. Frankly, I don't believe the 15,507 number based on what I've seen, though I don't know how that's calculated. The games in the first half of the season were downright embarrassing in terms of attendance. Loud City was almost completely empty and the Club Level was ~30% full. You could fit everyone into the lower level easily. In one instance, Josh Giddey even commented how the opposing team had more fans in our arena than we did and it immediately reminded me of Kevin Durant's comment when the team first moved to OKC that it was nice to finally play in an arena that had more of the home team's (Thunder's) fans than the opposing team's.
The second half of the season has seen significantly better attendance because I guess people are learning we have a young, exciting team on the verge of breaking out, but it's still not what it should be for a city supporting the team, in my opinion. Hopefully, next year, with Chet starting and more people aware that we have a team that will likely make a deep push into the playoffs, attendance will be back to where it should be.
Shai is an All Star, JDub is making a late push for Rookie of the Year (though it won't happen) and he could make a case for being an All Star next year if he makes even a slight jump in ability; Giddey keeps improving and putting up ridiculous numbers; Poku could make another impressive jump; Isaiah Joe is the 3 point shooter we've been waiting for over 10 years and we got him for free; Mark Daignault is the best coach we've had...it's all great stuff and people should come see it in person.
^
I'm sure the numbers are based on tickets sold, not who actually shows up to the games.
The current attendance vibe is definitely 2008-2010 Thunder era. The casual fan has no idea who is on the team other than SGA and maybe Giddey. Also it doesn't help that the games are now on Bally Sports and that almost no bars show the games now because of that.
I bet by playoff time next season, attendance is close to 100%.
This team is competing for the same playoff spots with the defending champ Warriors, the Clippers, the Suns, and Lakers. All as the youngest team in the NBA. Next year we are adding Chet to the lineup. Oh and Presti still has this to work with:
Would this be a good time to jump in on season tickets? I've been very on the fence for years about it, scared I wouldn't end up going often enough and not sure really what the overall cost would be, just the initial deposit. I think at one point I looked and there was a waiting list I think (obviously during the championship dreams heyday) but they've been a bit more aggressive in recruiting lately.
Should I dive in?
No time like the present to snag season tix. But don't expect any sort of discount based on team performance. They will gladly have empty seats versus diluting the value to existing ticket holders. I am quite certain there is no longer any waiting list. And I would think there is availability in just about any section and price range. The increased flexibility with various ticket packages is really nice too. My family loves going to the games. And even in down years in terms of win/loss, the Thunder do a great job of prioritizing fan experience. Particularly for younger children. As mentioned this young core is extremely exciting and has a ton of potential. If everyone can get and stay healthy, the next 4-6 years could be a lot of fun.
I was meaning the vibe of the fans, not the actual attendance numbers. Bad wording on my part. But yea, the casual fan isn't as tuned into the team right now because they don't know what special talent is lurking on the roster, that is about to change next season.
Not sure how the Bally deal works in terms of packages bars normally purchase... But two major ones I know of in Midtown do not have it. Collective and Parlor.
Now is definitely a good time to get season tickets. This team is young and improving. They are going to be a playoff team for a long time and will be a title contender soon. That being said, 41 games is a lot to commit to. I would suggest finding someone(s) to split the cost with and go to 10-15 games a year.
Actually, this is one of my biggest pet peeves about sports bars in OKC. They have the channel, but 9 times out of 10, they won't be showing the Thunder game unless someone specifically requests it they turn it. It didn't use to be that way, but I remember noticing it in 2018 and it's been worse since. I can't tell you the number of times I've been in The Garage or other bars in the downtown area during a Thunder game and out of their 25 tvs, none of them have the Thunder game on. They'll have weird tv shows or have hockey or something else no one wants to watch. In fairness to them (I guess), they're busy and probably don't have the wherewithal to think to put the game on at the start time and the people working there aren't necessarily sports fans themselves, so they don't think of it in the first place.
This is a perfect time and I would warn you it's probably your last chance to get good seats before the fair weathered fans flood back in and take up the stock. I had my season ticket renewal appointment today and I asked my account rep how renewals were going. They said they had a 94% renewal rate, which is the best it's been in years and they have really good momentum going into the offseason with new sales. Prices were kept steady or cut for next season.
I blame this on the "Let's tank to be better later plan". The sports bars I frequent were all about the Thunder during the playoff years. But since the blowup casual fans don't want to watch the local team lose. And there's apprehension about whether the current plan will really pan out. I personally have been a fan of teams who blew up to get better and haven't been better for 10 to 20 years so I can sympathize.
Crowds have been better this year, no doubt. Still a little disappointing seeing some empty seats when this team is in a play-in race.
We didn’t really need Kyrie to go off in the 4th quarter like that last night!
Yeah, you just knew that the one time we actually needed them to stay consistently bad (or even just mediocre), Kyrie would play lights out. Now we have to win tonight against the Jazz, which we should do. We will see if Memphis rests their starters on Sunday because their seeding is locked in. If we win those two game, we’re in.
Well stated king183, the Jazz fans want their team to tank. Players are fighting for their NBA lives, so this won't be an easy game.
Oklahoma City Thunder were predicted to win 25-26 games this season. Thunder have far exceeded that prediction with a chance to make the play in. We are past the point of tanking.
We still have a ton of draft picks in the mix. Another Dort or JDub caliber pickup in the next draft along with some height (and Chet Holmgren's return), OKC will be ready to compete with any team on any given night next season. We'll see if OKC needs free agents to become an NBA championship caliber contender.
Two games remain . . .
Thursday, April 6, 2023 - tonight
Oklahoma City Thunder @ Utah Jazz
Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City
Bally Sports Oklahoma, 8:00 P.M.
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