Tag: 2016 Western Conference Finals

On this day: Thunder blow 3-1 Western Conference finals lead vs. Warriors in Game 7 loss

In what would be Kevin Durant’s final game with the Thunder, OKC officially blew its 3-1 lead against the Warriors.

Seven years ago today, the Oklahoma City Thunder officially blew a 3-1 series lead against the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 Western Conference finals.

The Thunder entered the game still looking shell-shocked from what transpired in Game 6. Despite that, the Thunder held a double-digit lead at various points throughout the winner-take-all game.

Ultimately, the Warriors pulled through in the second half, enjoying a 96-88 win and clinching a second consecutive NBA Finals appearance against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

In his final game with the Thunder, Kevin Durant had 27 points on 10-of-19 shooting and seven rebounds. Russell Westbrook finished with 19 points on 7-of-21 shooting, 13 assists and seven rebounds.

The Warriors were led by Steph Curry’s 36 points on 13-of-24 shooting; he went 7-of-12 from 3.

As mentioned, this was Durant’s final game of his nine-year tenure with the Thunder. He signed with the Warriors less than two months later in a controversial move.

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On this day: Klay Thompson’s 41 points leads Warriors to Game 6 win vs. Thunder in 2016 WCF

On this day in 2016, Game 6 Klay led the Warriors to a road win against the Thunder.

Sunday marked the seven-year anniversary of one of the most heartbreaking moments in Oklahoma City Thunder fandom history.

Game 6 Klay.

With the Thunder up, 3-2, against the Golden State Warriors, they needed one more win to secure a berth in the 2016 NBA Finals. OKC’s best shot came in its final home game of the Western Conference finals, Game 6.

Instead, what transpired was Klay Thompson ripping the heart out of the Thunder. He went supernova to inch the Warriors one step closer to their eventual series win after falling behind 3-1.

The Warriors escaped OKC with a 108-101 win.

Thompson finished with 41 points on 14-of-31 shooting and went a ridiculous 11-of-18 from 3. Nineteen of Thompson’s points came in the fourth quarter. Steph Curry contributed 31 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.

Meanwhile, Kevin Durant had 29 points on inefficient 10-of-31 shooting in what turned out to be the final home game of his Thunder tenure. Russell Westbrook also had 28 points on 10-of-27 shooting, 11 assists and nine rebounds.

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On this day: Thunder take 3-1 lead over Warriors in 2016 Western Conference finals

Following a second consecutive blowout win, the Thunder had a 3-1 lead against the Warriors in the 2016 WCF.

On this day in 2016, the Oklahoma City Thunder created a 3-1 series lead against the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference finals.

Following a 118-94 Game 4 win at home, the Thunder were a win away from competing for an NBA championship. Russell Westbrook had 36 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists while Kevin Durant had 26 points and 11 rebounds in the blowout win.

It would’ve completed one of the hardest roads to the NBA Finals. The Thunder took down the 67-win San Antonio Spurs and record-breaking 73-9 Warriors in consecutive playoff series.

Instead, the Thunder suffered three consecutive losses as they infamously blew a 3-1 series lead. The series marked Kevin Durant’s final games with the Thunder: He signed with the Warriors a couple of months later.

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On this day: Kevin Durant leaves the Thunder and signs with the Warriors

On this day: Kevin Durant leaves the Oklahoma City Thunder and signs with the Golden State Warriors in 2016.

On this day in 2016, Kevin Durant left the Oklahoma City Thunder and signed with the Golden State Warriors.

Durant spent the first nine seasons of his career with the Thunder before entering free agency in 2016. Fresh off of blowing a 3-1 series lead to the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals, Durant decided to join them.

In three seasons with the Warriors, Durant won two championship and two Finals MVP awards.

Durant has been with the Brooklyn Nets for the last three seasons but it appears he will have a new home for the start of the 2022-23 season as he requested a trade.

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KD: ‘It didn’t matter” if OKC won 2016 WCF, he was still joining Dubs

Kevin Durant joined Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson on the latest episode of All The Smoke to discuss his decision to leave the Thunder.

It sounds like Kevin Durant was destined to leave Oklahoma City one way or the other.

Durant famously left the Thunder to join Golden State following the 2016 season. The move caused a lot of animosity between Durant and Russell Westbrook, as well as between Durant and the Oklahoma City fans, something that has yet to be fully resolved almost four years later.

In the most recent episode of SHOWTIME Basketball’s All The Smoke, Durant joined former teammate Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson to discuss the decision to leave and how it started long before the Warriors beat Oklahoma City in the Western Conference Finals.

“My mind was already thinking about how can I develop my game more so than the Warriors vs. Thunder, that rivalry. Like, even if it was a rivalry, I didn’t give a f–k — I just wanted to keep developing my game, you know what I’m saying,” asked Durant. “They’re a new fresh team, they’re on the rise. I f–k with them.

So me going there, it didn’t matter if [the Thunder] would have won or lost the series. I wanted to play there and live in The Bay.”

Durant spent three seasons with Golden State, winning back-to-back NBA Championships with the Warriors in 2017 and 2018 before tearing his Achilles during the 2019 Finals against Toronto. The Raptors went on to win the series 4-2.

Although he joined the Brooklyn Nets during free agency, Durant is still working back from his Achilles injury.

He’s continued to take shots at Oklahoma City, as well as some of his former teammates, in interviews and on social media.

In September he called his return to Chesapeake Energy Arena a “toxic environment”, and recently got into a Twitter feud with former Thunder teammate, Kendrick Perkins, over Perkins calling Russell Westbrook the “best to ever put on an Oklahoma City Thunder uniform”.