OKC Thunder 2013 - 2014

[kevinpate]

...
Bret Favre and Michael Jordan come to mind, but both ended up alienating a bunch of people at the end of their careers.

That means KD still has plenty of time to become a jerk if he had a mind to do so. Somehow, I don't think his mama would stand for it, and so it isn't likely to happen.
Ain't nothing like a boy who loves his mama.

[Pete]

That means KD still has plenty of time to become a jerk if he had a mind to do so. Somehow, I don't think his mama would stand for it, and so it isn't likely to happen.
Ain't nothing like a boy who loves his mama.

Pro athletes almost never play their entire career with one team.

In fact, I can't remember the last time that happened with a superstar... Maybe Cal Ripken?

Makes it very hard for a community to continue to love a player when they ultimately end up competing against your own team.

[AP]

Pro athletes almost never play their entire career with one team.

In fact, I can't remember the last time that happened with a superstar... Maybe Cal Ripken?

Makes it very hard for a community to continue to love a player when they ultimately end up competing against your own team.

Maybe not currently, but there are quite a few if you go back a little. I know for sure Barry Sanders played with the Lions his whole career.

[Pete]

Maybe not currently, but there are quite a few if you go back a little. I know for sure Barry Sanders played with the Lions his whole career.

True, but that was only 10 seasons, where Ripken played 23.

KD has already played 7 and at 25 has many more ahead of him.

[Bellaboo]

Pro athletes almost never play their entire career with one team.

In fact, I can't remember the last time that happened with a superstar... Maybe Cal Ripken?

Makes it very hard for a community to continue to love a player when they ultimately end up competing against your own team.

Tim Duncan will and he's had an all star career.

[Pete]

Tim Duncan will and he's had an all star career.

Very true! Hopefully KD will follow his lead.

[dankrutka]

Very true! Hopefully KD will follow his lead.

There are a ton of NBA players who played, or are deep into their careers, playing only with one team (this is just players I remember from the 90s on when I started watching the NBA): Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobli, & David Robinson of the Spurs (who is kind of a model franchise for the Thunder), Dirk Nowitzki, Kobe Bryant, Udonis Haslem, Nick Collison, Jameer Nelson, Anderson Varejao, John Stockton, Reggie Miller, Joe Dumars, Isiah Thomas, Kevin McHale, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, etc... And then there are a ton of players that played their entire career with one team until switching to chase a title or something of the like: Karl Malone, Paul Pierce, and many others.

The point is that there's quite a precedent for staying with one team your entire career, or at least the meaningful parts of it.

[Jersey Boss]

Pro athletes almost never play their entire career with one team.

In fact, I can't remember the last time that happened with a superstar... Maybe Cal Ripken?

Makes it very hard for a community to continue to love a player when they ultimately end up competing against your own team.

Derek Jeter, Tim Duncan.

[Dave Cook]

Pro athletes almost never play their entire career with one team.

In fact, I can't remember the last time that happened with a superstar... Maybe Cal Ripken?

Makes it very hard for a community to continue to love a player when they ultimately end up competing against your own team.

Edmonton Oiler fans still loved Gretzky, Messier and the rest of those guys when they rolled back through town. Although it will be interesting what the reaction will be when Durant eventually returns with a different organization. Although different circumstances, I was a bit surprised with how quickly Okies started to despise Harden.

Durant really intrigues me. He's such an amazing guy and good person that I honestly can't predict what he will do. I expect him to eventually want to try a different setting but not as an insult to OKC. I was born and raised in OKC and still left. Doesn't mean I dislike the place....just wanted something new.

But Durant almost seems content with this market.....which is interesting considering he's one of the best athletes in the world.

[Jim Kyle]

Pro athletes almost never play their entire career with one team.

In fact, I can't remember the last time that happened with a superstar... Maybe Cal Ripken?

How about Larry Bird?

[warreng88]

How about Larry Bird?

Dirk