OKC Thunder - "Changing Basketball" like Moneyball

[TomasM]

Victor Wembanyama Should be Suspended

San Antonio at Minnesota
05/11/2026

I know this thread is about the Thunder but as I was watching a game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and San Antonio Spurs this weekend I saw Victor Wembanyama -a literal giant among professional basketball players- look another player directly in the eyes, consciously swing his elbow, and knock the opposing player to the ground -and nearly unconscious. It was a vicious and deliberate play and in my opinion should be met with a fierce response by the NBA.

There is always going to be aggression in basketball and asserting aggression and physicality -especially during the playoffs- is just part of the expectation by everyone involved. Fans often go to games so they can get out some of their aggression vicariously through players while participating in a level of tribalism and this is better than people doing it actively between citizens, so it's good to a point.

After the altercation Victor was ejected from the game and though that is the expected outcome for such a violent act, a punishment has to be delivered by the NBA or players will seek revenge with the full expectation that only an ejection (a slap on the wrist) will be the outcome. When Victor realized he had been ejected, he nodded his head OK -like it was no big deal,- and then started high fiving all of his teammates / supporters and went to the locker room. He had no remorse or care about the player that he violently attacked.

The player that was struck, Naz Reid, is a high performer -awarded regularly by the league for exceptional performance- and appeared to be somewhat of a bystander to the incident. He had been engaged in harassing defense but there didn't appear to be any level of overly aggressive physical engagement -with respect to normal playoff basketball defense.

When referees don't engage enough to curb these types of behavior is usually when we see players have these explosive outbursts; however, there didn't appear to be any escalation prior to this act of violence. The same can be said for the league if they don't punish this act with a suspension. IT'S NOT OK, and Victor needs to feel it through his pocketbook and public backlash.

 

[TomasM]

Thunder Set Record for Bench Points
05/22/26

The OKC Thunder entered the game on Friday an underdog by 3 points after loosing a double overtime game in OKC. This is not a position they were accustomed to, so they have methodically adjusted their strategy by focusing on what make them great… playing as a team.

From the very start, on the road in San Antonio, the Thunder were down 15-0 (one point shy of an all time record) and it felt like they were on the ropes taking punch after punch. The crowd and San Antonio’s execution was spectacular, but just with every excessive burst of energy there usually comes a lag and that’s when OKC started punching (metaphorically) back. By the end of the quarter the team had cut the margin to five and by halftime they led by seven.

So, how did they do what do many others couldn’t do against such a dominant effort —well, they played to their strength— teamwork. OKC didn’t turn to their best player and demand him to win the game in double coverages but instead they spread the opportunity to players that don’t always get the glory but are valued unlike any other team in the NBA - and the commentators, the players, and even the opponents know the OKC Thunder compete as a family. By the end of the game a new record had been set, their bench scored 76 points in a playoff game and the Thunder had turned a 15 point deficit into a 15 point victory.

The team had faith in each other and as a group. They believed in something bigger than their individual self and that is how success occurs in the face of such adversity.

We all have adversity in life and when that happens faith is where strength and confidence emerges victorious.

 

[TomasM]

A David and Goliath Moment
05/22/26

On Friday night in San Antonio the smallest guy on the court went at the largest player in the league and was successful.

Jarred McCain, came to the Thunder from Philadelphia in January halfway through the season. At the time the Philadelphia management team publicly stated that they had traded down (an insult to the player) but even fans in Philadelphia knew this was a terrible trade. Sam Presti had done it again, by capturing great talent simply because another team undervalued and under appreciated an exceptional player.

Since he arrived in OKC he has been an incredible addition by offering long range three point shooting and stretching the opposing teams defense. Tonight however he continued that success but also added many points by driving into the paint and scoring. One of those drives resulted in a face-off between him and the giant (Victor Wembanyama, the defensive player of the year for the NBA). Jarred (David) went directly at Victor (Goliath) and the result was a giant going to the ground and the young player emerging victorious.

So much can be achieved when a team and its players have faith and believe in each other. This is but one of many examples I’ve seen from this family of competitors.

 

[TomasM]

The 2026 playoffs

There’s been some excellent competition in this years NBA playoffs:

In the Western Conference the two favored teams have made it to their conference finals. The Thunder swept the first two rounds by besting Phoenix and the Lakers while San Antonio were relatively efficient in moving past Portland and Minnesota. The biggest disappointments were the highly touted beginning of the year predictions: Houston (injuries); Denver who once again didn’t seem to care about playing defense.

In the Eastern Conference Cleveland managed to overcome Toronto and number one Detroit (in 7 games) while New York had a relatively easy path by besting number 6 Atlanta and 7 Philadelphia. The biggest disappointments was the second seeded Boston who failed to overcome Philadelphia while appearing to have internal fighting about who was the team leader.

Here is the current state of the conference finals with the two winners (best of seven games) advancing to the NBA Finals:

 

[TomasM]

From Unrated to Unstoppable:
Oklahoma’s Championship Run Through Omaha

I felt a callout for the Sooner baseball team was worthy of mention. It had a similar feel to the Thunder with young talent, a team first mentality and a massive underdog story. Truly a remarkable season for an amazing group of young men.

Oklahoma entered the 2026 NCAA baseball postseason as the kind of team easy to overlook: unrated, unseeded nationally, and buried in the shadows of bigger names and higher expectations. The Sooners had not marched into June as a polished favorite; they had fought through an uneven SEC season and arrived in the tournament with more questions than certainty. But once the postseason began, Oklahoma became something far more dangerous than a ranked team with pressure on its back. It became a team with nothing to lose, and one by one, the Sooners began turning the bracket into a proving ground.

Their road to the national championship was not soft, lucky, or accidental. Oklahoma had to climb through a postseason loaded with rated opponents, first battling past No. 2 Georgia Tech in the Atlanta Regional, including an extra-inning 8-7 thriller that announced the Sooners were not going away quietly. Then came a sweep of No. 15 Kansas in the Super Regional, followed by a 9-0 statement over No. 7 Alabama in Omaha. Still, the path only grew heavier. Waiting next was No. 3 Georgia, the SEC regular-season and tournament champion, and Oklahoma beat the Bulldogs twice. By the time the Sooners reached the championship series against No. 5 North Carolina, their run no longer felt like a surprise. It felt like momentum becoming destiny.

That destiny played out in an Omaha field weighted heavily by SEC power. Alabama, Texas, Georgia, Ole Miss, and Oklahoma gave the College World Series a distinctly conference-heavy feel, with one entire bracket side carrying the weight of SEC baseball. Yet out of that pressure cooker, it was the unrated Sooners who kept rising. After taking Game 1 from North Carolina, absorbing a Game 2 loss, and returning for the decisive finale, Oklahoma delivered one final eruption: a 13-2 championship-clinching win. What began as an overlooked postseason entry ended as one of the most dramatic championship runs in recent college baseball memory—a team outside the spotlight walking through ranked opponent after ranked opponent until there was no one left to doubt them.

The championship run also carried the feel of a family story unfolding on the biggest stage. Oklahoma’s lineup had steady sparks from players like Jaxon Willits, Kyle Branch, Deiten LaChance, Trey Gambill, and Jason Walk, while the mound became the place where the Sooners’ depth truly showed. The Mercurius brothers gave the run one of its strongest storylines: junior right-hander LJ Mercurius and freshman right-hander Xander Mercurius both played major roles, with Xander emerging as one of several freshman arms trusted in the postseason spotlight. Oklahoma’s roster listed four freshman pitchers—Xander Mercurius, Brisco Smith, Nick Wesloski, and Cord Rager—and that youth made the title feel even more improbable. Then there was the Willits family connection, with Jaxon playing shortstop while his father, Reggie Willits, served as Oklahoma’s associate head coach after also playing for the Sooners from 2002-03. By the final out, Oklahoma’s championship was more than a bracket-breaking run; it was a story of brothers, fathers, sons, freshmen, veterans, and an entire roster growing into the moment together.