In 2012, The trio of James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder made it to the NBA Finals. However, they lost in five games to the Miami Heat. That was beginning of the slow process of the fall of the Thunder.
In 2007, Kevin Durant was drafted to the then Seattle Supersonics. The following year, Russell Westbrook was drafted to the now Oklahoma City Thunder, followed by James Harden in 2009. This was the beginning of a trio that are now the best players in the NBA.
In the 2009-2010 the Thunder, won 50 games, double the amount they had last season according to ESPN. They would face the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers, but were eliminated in 6 games. The team was only getting started.
In the following year, the Thunder won 55 games and made it to the Western Conference Finals. However, they were eliminated in five games to the Dallas Mavericks. That season Durant led the league in scoring with 27 points according to Basketball Reference. Westbrook, and Harden were still developing, but the Thunder put the league on notice with how far they went in the playoffs.
In 2012, the Thunder went 47 and 19 in a shortened NBA season. Durant once again led the league in scoring, Westbrook began to establish himself as one of the great point guards of the league when he averaged 23 points and 7 assists, and Harden averaged 16 points and was closer to becoming one of the great young players in the NBA. The Thunder finally broke through, won the Western Conference championship, and were going to the NBA Finals. In the Finals, Durant and Westbrook averaged nearly 60 points combined. The Thunder would go on to lose to Miami Heat in five games.
In the offseason, a decision was made. Who do you keep? The Thunder couldn’t pay to keep the three. So, James Harden would be traded to the Houston Rockets and Durant and Westbrook would get contract extensions to stay with the Thunder.
In Houston, Harden would become a superstar. With the Rockets he is averaging 27 points and has made a case for NBA Most Valuable Player a couple times. As of this season, Harden is making another strong case for league MVP averaging nearly a triple double and leading the NBA in assists.
As for Westbrook and Durant they couldn’t make it back to the NBA Finals. In the 2013 playoffs, Westbrook injured his knee in the playoffs and the Thunder would be eliminated in the second round. The following year, Durant won NBA MVP, but they would lose in the Conference Finals to the San Antonio Spurs. In the 2014-2015 season Durant would miss most of the season due to a foot injury but, Westbrook showed the NBA who he was, nearly averaging a triple double in Durant’s absence but, they would miss the playoffs. In the 2016 playoffs, the Thunder were on the verge of making it making the NBA Finals with a 3-1 lead on the defending champs Golden State Warriors, but they would lose three games to the Warriors and were denied a return to the NBA Finals again.
That would be the last of the Westbrook and Durant duo. Durant would announce on July fourth that he was joining the Warriors. This season in Golden State, Durant is currently having career highs in field goal percentage, rebounds, blocks, and steals per game.
Westbrook is now the lone wolf on the Thunder. The Thunder seem to be going through a rebuilding mode now that they have lost Durant, and made some trades to build for years to come. But, the rebuilding process hasn't been too bad for Westbrook and the Thunder. Westbrook is arguably the top candidate for league MVP this season as he is averaging a triple double and has carried this new and young Thunder team.
If Harden, Westbrook, and Durant stayed together in Oklahoma City, they perhaps could’ve won a couple of championships, maybe they wouldn’t have. In the end, this trio of Harden, Westbrook, and Durant will go down as one the biggest, “What If,” stories in NBA history because of what they accomplished at such young ages, and what they could’ve accomplished had they stayed together.
