Durant, Thunder and OKC deserve each other

[MadMonk]

Great article!
Durant belongs with Thunder, and Thunder belong with Oklahoma - NBA - CBSSports.com Basketball

Game 6 ended in the most shocking way possible, with the Lakers stealing victory from defeat when Pau Gasol tapped in the game-winning shot with less than one second to play. That ended the game and the series ... and the Thunder's season. And do you know what the Thunder crowd did next? It stood and cheered, and this is where I'm getting goosebumps as I remember it. The season was over, the Thunder was crushed -- Kevin Durant, earnest like a college player, collapsed at midcourt at the final buzzer -- and the damn crowd was giving them an ovation out of appreciation for a sensational season.

When it happened, I started looking around for the reason. Is there a fight? Why are they cheering? NBA crowds don't cheer at this time, or with this much passion. This wasn't half-hearted, over-the-shoulder applause by fans who were headed for the exits. This was 16,000 people standing and staring at the court and loving a losing team. This lasted almost five minutes. A half hour after the game, Brooks said the crowd's response had torn up his team, in a good way.

"They're pretty emotional in there," Brooks said of his players in the OKC locker room. "Because of the crowd."

[kevinpate]

Make no mistake, Oklahoma City deserves this basketball team. Four years ago I wrongly predicted this day would never come, that the NBA wouldn't let the Sonics leave Seattle, but here we are. The Sonics are the Thunder, and Oklahoma City deserves to have them. This isn't a comparison between OKC and Seattle. I'm not saying Oklahoma City deserves this team more than Seattle did.

Leave Seattle out of the equation and understand this: Oklahoma City deserves the Thunder. This is a major league city that has been relegated to the ranks of the minors by American sports leagues that measure their worth by the size of their, um, market. And Oklahoma City is only the 45th-biggest TV market in the country. But players around the NBA have come to appreciate the Ford Center as one of the toughest buildings to play because of the sheer volume the crowd generates. I've not been to every arena in the NBA, but I get around, and the only basketball building louder than the Ford Center is Duke's crammed Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Pretty much a full on to the fan base, well deserved from what I've read here and the parts I observed on the telly.

[dcsooner]

Great article!
Durant belongs with Thunder, and Thunder belong with Oklahoma - NBA - CBSSports.com Basketball

This has to be one of the best articles about NBA basketball in OKC to date. Wow! some of the media is actually beginning to acknowledge OKC's love of sports in general and this team in specific. I plan on re-reading this one on multiple occassions

[MikeOKC]

Wow. That's some serious praise!

[earlywinegareth]

Nice publicity, of course we already knew OKC was a great sports town. I don't think anyone has taken down their car flags.

[sam greenroyd]

Nice publicity, of course we already knew OKC was a great sports town. I don't think anyone has taken down their car flags.

Kinda make you proud to be from OKC we have been looked down on for so long

[dmoor82]

Wow That article compares The Ford Center with Cameron Indoor! WOW thats some high praise!The Crazies are some of the loudest fans of basketball period!

[OKCDrummer77]

Wow That article compares The Ford Center with Cameron Indoor! WOW thats some high praise!The Crazies are some of the loudest fans of basketball period!

I was surprised to learn that Cameron's capacity is roughly half that of the Ford Center. That makes their legendary noise levels all the more impressive. On the other hand, it also made me think, "We'd better be louder than them. There are twice as many of us!"

[Jethrol]

That's soo cool!!!

[Laramie]

OKC & Kevin Durant?

"Birds of a feather, flock together;" this is a combination for a real winner!

[mmonroe]

Oklahoma Kevin Durant City.... funday rename.