Those were the good old days…
Back in 2014, the Oklahoma City Thunder was still one of the NBA’s darlings. The Golden State Warriors had yet to become a dynasty while Tim Duncan and his Spurs were busy continuing their own.
In 2013, the Spurs won the Western Conference after sweeping the Memphis Grizzlies in the conference finals. That came after Memphis eliminated the Thunder in the second round by a series count of 4-1.
The next year, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant got their revenge.
On May 3, 2014, led by a triple-double from Russell Westbrook, the duo combined for 60 points and led the Thunder to a decisive Game 7 victory over the Marc Gasol-led Grizzlies in the first round of their second consecutive playoff battle.
Durant led all scorers with 33 points, while Westbrook added 27 points, 10 rebounds and 16 assists.
The Thunder would go on to defeat the Clippers in the second round of the playoffs before getting dropped by the Spurs (surprise, surprise) in the Western Conference Finals.
After eliminating the Thunder, the Spurs qualified for their second straight NBA Finals where they would square off against LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat. James and the Heat — who were looking to complete the first three-peat since Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant accomplished the feat with the Lakers — defeated the Spurs in the 2013 NBA Finals.
After suffering a gut-wrenching seven-game loss to the Heat in the previous year, though, the Spurs got their revenge, eliminating the Heat in just six games.
They had to go through Oklahoma City to earn a fifth championship, though.
In the grand scheme of things, the Thunder’s Game 7 victory over the Grizzlies didn’t lead to any incredible glory for the franchise, but it does remind us of a better time. The Thunder won the Western Conference in 2012 and advanced to the Western Conference Finals in 2011, 2014 and 2016.
Now, as there continues to be growing optimism that the NBA will be able to crown a champion for its 2019-20 season, we can only hope that Chris Paul and his young club will have the opportunity to create some more positive memories this summer, as well.