BDL’s 2016-17 Season Previews: Oklahoma City Thunder (Ball Don’t Lie)

Before the Golden State Warriors could blow a 3-1 lead in the 2016 NBA Finals, the Oklahoma City Thunder had to go and blow a 3-1 lead of its own in the Western Conference finals against those same Warriors. In a vacuum, noticing the "Lost NBA Western Conference finals (3-4)" designation next to the 2015-16 Thunder's name might not seem all that galling. This was the first full (technically, as the 2011-12 turn was lockout-addled) and healthy season that Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook paired together as championship contenders while working in their primes, and falling just short of taking that act to the Finals (especially with Game 7 played on the road, against a team that was pining for its 85th win in 99 tries) looks like a worthy, if not slightly disappointing, exercise.