2010–11 Oklahoma City Thunder season
The 2010–11 Oklahoma City Thunder season was the 3rd season of the franchise's existence in Oklahoma City as a member of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The franchise built on its prior success from the previous year, winning 55 regular-season games and reaching the Western Conference finals – in the process becoming the second-youngest team ever to do so. In the playoffs, the Thunder defeated the Denver Nuggets in five games in the First Round, and the Memphis Grizzlies in seven games in the Semi-finals, before losing to the eventual NBA champion  Dallas Mavericks in five games in the Conference Finals. Players. 2010–11 Salaries. Sources: Offseason. International participation. In February 2010, the USA National Basketball Team named Thunder players Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook to the 27-man national team roster for 2010–12. From July 19–24, 2010, Durant, Westbrook and Jeff Green each attended tryout camp in Las Vegas for inclusion on the 12-man USA National Team roster at the 2010 FIBA World Championship, to take place from August 28 to September 12, 2010 in Turkey. In late July, Durant, Westbrook and Green were each named to the narrowed 15-man  USA Team roster, which participated in additional workouts August 9–16 in New York City. On August 15, 2010, Westbrook and Durant were named to the narrowed 13-man roster, which competed from August 17–20 in Madrid, Spain. On August 24, 2010, the final 12-man roster was effectively determined when USA Basketball member Rajon Rondo withdrew from Team USA. This made Durant and Westbrook the only members of Team USA from the same NBA squad. In addition, Thunder athletic trainer Joe Sharpe also traveled as a team assistant. Thunder players participating on other FIBA teams included Nenad Krstić (who was  suspended for Serbia's first three games following a chair-throwing incident in a tune-up match against Greece at the Acropolis Tournament on August 19), and Tibor Pleiß for Germany. At the 2010 FIBA tournament, Team USA won the championship game against Turkey, and Serbia ended the tournament in fourth place. Germany did not advance to the elimination-round phase of the competition. Durant was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, and was also a first-team All-Tournament selection. For his efforts, Durant was also awarded the 2010 Male Athlete of the Year award by USA Basketball . Coaching/Staff changes. Just before the end of the 2010 playoffs, the Thunder announced that the team had exercised extension rights on its contract with Coach Scott Brooks, keeping him under contract through the 2011–12 season. Under the contract, Brooks earns in excess of $1.5 million per season. Later, on July 22, 2010, the team announced signing its general manager Sam Presti to a multi-year deal, terms of which were not disclosed. Assistant coaching and staff positions, however, changed over the summer. In late June, Thunder assistant coach Ron Adams took a similar position with the Chicago Bulls  under their new head coach Tom Thibodeau. As of July, the Thunder had no immediate plans to directly replace Adams. On August 24, 2010, the Thunder added former international coach Maz Trakh as an assistant coach in charge of player development, in addition to confirming the retention of remaining assistant coaches Maurice Cheeks, Mark Bryant, Rex Kalamian, and Brian Keefe. On July 19, 2010, Thunder Assistant general manager Rich Cho left to take the vacant general manager's position with the Portland Trail Blazers. Former Thunder Director of Pro Personnel Bill Branch also joined Cho in Portland. The Thunder subsequently  promoted Troy Weaver to vice president/assistant general manager, Rob Hennigan to assistant general manager/player personnel, Paul Rivers to director of minor league operations and basketball technology and Brandon Barnett to director of minor league scouting and manager of minor league operations. At the same time, the Thunder announced the additions of Michael Winger as Assistant general manager for Legal/Administration, and David Vanterpool as a scout. Training. The Thunder attended the Orlando Pro Summer League from July 5–9, 2010, during which the team won four games and lost one. No Thunder starters were assigned to Orlando; Harden, Serge  Ibaka and Eric Maynor were the most experienced players on the summer roster. The Thunder also signed forward Marcus Lewis and guard Cliff Hammonds as free agents on the summer roster. Both Durant and Daequan Cook attended the event and participated in informal workouts. Harden averaged 17.5 points over five games, good for fifth in the summer league standings. Maynor averaged 5.0 assists over three games, good for fourth. Promotion and media news. In June 2010, Durant and teammate James Harden completed a week-long promotional tour of China sponsored by Nike. Durant was also unveiled as the featured athlete  on the cover of EA Sports' video game "NBA Elite 11". On August 3, 2010, the Thunder announced a multi-year contract granting FOX Sports Southwest the exclusive rights to regional television broadcasts of Thunder games. On August 26, 2010, the Thunder organization announced that it would exercise its right to re-open naming rights negotiations for the Ford Center, which effectively guarantees a name change for the facility in the near future. Thunder players Durant, Krstić, and Thabo Sefolosha were featured on the October 19, 2010 cover of Sports Illustrated's 2010 NBA Preview edition, with an accompanying feature  article by SI Correspondent Lee Jenkins. Draft acquisitions. Heading into the week of the 2010 draft, the Thunder held rights to four draft selections: On June 23, 2010, the Thunder traded their rights to the #32 overall pick to the Miami Heat in exchange for the #18 overall pick and the rights to shooting guard Daequan Cook. On draft day, June 24, 2010, the Thunder acquired shooting guard Eric Bledsoe from Kentucky with the 18th pick. With the 21st pick, the Thunder acquired power forward Craig Brackins from Iowa State. With the 26th pick, the Thunder acquired forward Quincy Pondexter  from Washington. With the 51st pick, the Thunder acquired center Magnum Rolle from Louisiana Tech. However, each of these draft acquisitions was subjected to a trade on draft day: In addition: Pre-season. Summary. The Thunder's pre-season training camp opened on September 28, 2010, with the temporary roster addition of guards Demond "Tweety" Carter, Jerome Dyson and Elijah Millsap, as well as center Longar Longar. Carter and Longar were subsequently waived and removed from the roster on October 15, 2010, after one pre-season appearance each. The Thunder's final two pre-season roster additions, Dyson and Millsap , were waived on October 20, 2010 – leaving the team roster at the required 15 members heading into the regular season. Regular season. Summary. The Thunder's playoff run in 2009–10 fueled early-season interest for 2010–11. The team's regular-season schedule, released on August 10, 2010, revealed fifteen nationally televised games, up from three in the previous year. The Thunder also ranked among the NBA's top five teams in new season ticket sales heading into the year. This was in addition to a 93% renewal rate for season tickets from the previous year, well above the NBA average  of 80%. The Thunder began their regular season at home against the Chicago Bulls with an Opening Night promotion that included outdoor entertainment, a new magazine publication, and a blue-attire theme. The Thunder won the opening game, 106 to 95. The first two months of the season saw mixed, but generally positive results for the Thunder. Through December 10, 2010, the Thunder played a schedule which statistically ranked #5 in the NBA, and #3 in the Western Conference. Despite this, the team logged a .667 winning percentage over the period. Kevin Durant led the NBA in scoring over the  period at 27.45 points per game, although he missed four games due to injury (the Thunder were 3–1 in those games). The early season was highlighted by strong performances by Russell Westbrook (who at 23.95 points per game improved his scoring average by almost 8 points per game compared to 2009–2010) and Serge Ibaka (who saw his playing time increase to over 27 minutes per game and was near the top of the league in blocks). By the midway point in the season, the Thunder's cumulative team free-throw percentage stood at .83116, just slightly off the pace of  the all-time NBA single-season record of .83186, set by the 1989–90 Boston Celtics. The team's three-point shooting, however, lagged behind other offensive categories; by early February, the team's cumulative three-point percentage was 32.8%, third-worst in the league. The Thunder's 27–14 record at the midpoint of the season was largely attributable to a potent offense (103.7 points per game, sixth in the NBA) making up for subpar defensive performance (102 opponents' points per game, 20th in the NBA). As of the All-Star break, the Thunder were rated #6 in the NBA's  power ranking system, with a comparatively easy schedule over the remaining course of the season. Through the first half of the season, the Thunder's rotation stayed relatively constant, with a starting five of: Except for periodic injuries, the starting rotation did not change until after the trading deadline on February 24, 2011. In various combinations, the Thunder generally used a nine-man rotation through January 2011, providing reserves Ibaka, Maynor, Harden and Nick Collison with significant playing time. During four games when Durant was out of the lineup with injury, the Thunder often utilized a lineup which simultaneously featured  Green at the small forward spot with Ibaka at power forward, a combination featured more often as the early season unfolded. Starting with the January 28, 2011 game against Washington, shooting guard Daequan Cook began receiving significant minutes in the rotation, allowing the Thunder to substitute an entirely new second string on multiple occasions. This combination sparked some notable Thunder streaks, including the February 5 game against Utah and the February 15 game against Sacramento. The starting rotation changed significantly after the February 24, 2011, trading deadline. In two deals made on that date, the Thunder sent starters Jeff Green  and Nenad Krstić to the Boston Celtics, and acquired eventual starter at center Kendrick Perkins, backup center Nazr Mohammed, and backup point guard Nate Robinson. Perkins was unable to start immediately after his acquisition due to a left knee sprain suffered on February 22. In games on February 25 and 27, the Thunder elevated Ibaka and Collison into the starting rotation at power forward and center, respectively. The immediate post-trade lineup shuffle resulted in the team's only three-game losing streak of the season, from February 23–27. This stretch, however, did include some bright spots, including a competitive  performance against the Lakers on February 27 in which Cole Aldrich registered his best performance of the year. On March 2, Mohammed replaced Collison as starting center. The starting lineup changed again on March 14 with the insertion of Kendrick Perkins at starting center. This solidified the starting lineup for the stretch run of the regular season as: The most immediate beneficiary of the new lineup, however, was sixth man James Harden, who in the first 15 games after the All-Star break increased his scoring average from 10.3 to 17.7 points per game. The new lineup's first major  test came in the March 16, 2011 game at Miami, which the Thunder won due to a shutdown defensive performance in the second half. Subsequently, the team was cited for lackluster play in a four-game stretch from March 18–25, but afterward put in an energetic performance against Portland at home on March 27, a win which clinched a playoff berth for the franchise for the second year in a row. The team subsequently clinched the Northwest Division championship with its April 6 victory against the Los Angeles Clippers. The contributions of Cook and Harden in the second half of  the season, combined with improved three-point shooting from Westbrook, allowed the team to bring its overall three-point shooting percentage to 34.7% by the end of the regular season, good for 19th in the league. Although the Thunder ended up leading the NBA in free-throw percentage at 82.3%, this number did not displace the 1989–90 Celtics record. The Thunder were still in contention for a #2 overall playoff seed by the time of their last regular season game on April 13 against Milwaukee, the pre-game ceremonies for which featured the unveiling of a Northwest Division championship banner . However, the Thunder's overtime loss in that game, in which the starting rotation played limited minutes, guaranteed the overall #4 seed in the Western Conference and a first-round playoff matchup with the #5-seed Denver Nuggets. The Thunder ended the season with 55 wins, five more than the 2009–10 season. Overall during the regular season, they averaged 104.83 points per game (good for fifth in the league) while limiting opponents to 101.04 points per game (18th in the league). Attendance at Thunder regular season games continued to be strong in 2010–11. Despite having one of the smaller arenas  in the NBA, the Thunder drew an average of 18,148 spectators per contest, ranking 13th in the league. This translated into 99.7% of the overall capacity of the 18,203-seat Oklahoma City Arena, ranking 8th in the league. Promotion and media news. In March 2011, the Thunder were named to Fast Company Magazine's list of the Ten Most Innovative Companies in Sports, ranked at #6. In merchandising sales figures released by the NBA on April 13, 2011, the Thunder as a team generated the sixth-most jersey sales of all NBA teams; in addition, Kevin Durant's individual jersey  ranked as the seventh-most popular in the NBA. In the May/June 2011 issue of "Dime Magazine", Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were featured on the cover and named "The NBA's best duo since Shaq and Kobe." Standings. Conference. c – clinched regular-season conference lead x – clinched playoff spot y – clinched division Playoffs. Summary. First round. The opening series of the playoffs against the Denver Nuggets was given extra attention when Denver coach George Karl described the Thunder team as "cocky" in comments made before the series. Game 1 of the series featured promotions similar to the "Opening  Night" of the regular season, including a "blue-out" T-shirt giveaway and a "Thunder Alley" entertainment venue outside the arena. The crowd atmosphere for Game One was loud enough that it reportedly made Karl's six-year-old daughter cry. The game itself was highly competitive, featuring nine ties and nine lead changes. The Thunder's eventual 107-103 victory was aided by a basket occurring with just over one minute left in the game by Kendrick Perkins, which the NBA later admitted should have resulted in an offensive goaltending call. After a relatively easy Game 2 at home , the Thunder earned a hard-fought 97-94 victory in Game 3 at Denver, behind the remarkable performance of Serge Ibaka, who logged a career-high 22 points along with 16 rebounds. Denver avoided elimination in a Game 4 contest in which the Thunder's Russell Westbrook was criticized for selfish play in a 12-for-30 shooting performance. The Thunder finished the series in Game 5 by winning a dramatic comeback at home, which featured Kevin Durant scoring 16 of his 41 points in the fourth quarter. Conference semi-finals. The second round of the playoffs matched the Thunder against  the Memphis Grizzlies, who had upset the #1-seeded San Antonio Spurs in a six-game series. Memphis dominated Game 1 in Oklahoma City behind a combined 54-point, 23-rebound performance by Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. The Thunder's front court was able to play more aggressive defense against the duo in Game 2, leading to a 111-102 Thunder victory to tie the series. The next two games of the series in Memphis developed similarly but ended in different results. In Game 3, the Thunder surrendered a 16-point lead late in the third quarter, with the  Grizzlies eventually tying the game in regulation and winning the game in overtime. In Game 4, the Thunder allowed Memphis to come back from a 10-point deficit with 5:25 remaining; afterward, the Thunder were unable to convert last-second shots in regulation and each of the first two overtime periods, before eventually pulling out a 133-123 win in triple overtime. Fatigue from this contest appeared to effect the Grizzlies in Game 5, who were limited to just 36% shooting in a runaway 99-72 Thunder victory. Oklahoma City led by 19 points at the end of the third  quarter, allowing the team to rest most of its starters for the final period. The rest did not benefit the Thunder in Game 6, however, in which Kevin Durant was limited to just 11 points; by contrast, Memphis' Zach Randolph scored 30 points "en route" to a 95-83 Memphis victory, forcing a decisive Game 7 in Oklahoma City. The Thunder were able to clinch the playoff series in Game 7, however, benefitting from a 39-point performance from Durant as well as a triple-double performance by Westbrook. Conference finals. The Western Conference finals pitted the Thunder against the  Dallas Mavericks, who had previously swept the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers in four games, allowing the Mavericks the advantage of eight days rest heading into the series. Game 1 of the conference finals saw the Thunder accumulate as much as a nine-point lead in the third quarter, but ultimately collapse under the pressure of a 48-point performance by Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki and timely three-point shooting by reserve guard J.J. Barea. Nowitzki's performance included an NBA-record for consecutive free throws in a game; he was a perfect 24-for-24 from the line. Oklahoma City  evened the series in Game 2, where the Thunder bench scored 50 points and played much of the decisive fourth quarter. In Game 3, Dallas' defensive effort forced 14 turnovers by the Thunder, eventually opening up a 23-point Dallas lead before holding off a late Thunder charge in a 93-87 win. Game 4 unfolded positively for the Thunder through most of the contest, with the team enjoying a 15-point advantage with 4:49 remaining in the fourth quarter, having built on a large statistical lead in rebounds, assists, blocks, and points in the paint. However, the Thunder suffered  from 25 turnovers in the contest, and their offense evaporated in the final five minutes, shooting 1-10 from the field, as Dallas went on a 17-2 run to tie the game in regulation, 101-101. The Mavericks eventually won the game in overtime, 112-105, sending the Thunder back to Dallas down 3-1 in the series. The Thunder season then came to an end on May 25, 2011 in a hard-fought loss at Dallas, 100-96. Promotion and media news. The Thunder's 2011 playoff appearances generated several new records for television ratings of individual Thunder  games within the OKC market. Prior to 2011, the highest-rated Thunder game had been Game 6 against the Lakers in the 2010 playoffs (generating a cumulative 21.4 rating in OKC households among two broadcasts). In 2011, Game 6 of the Memphis series generated a 22.5 share; Game 7 generated a 23.4 share; Game 5 generated a 24.0 share; and Game 1 of the Mavericks series generated a 24.8 share. During the 2011 NBA Playoffs, Kevin Durant was featured in national television commercials for Gatorade's "G-Series" sports drink line, with one such commercial incorporating teammates Nate Robinson, Nick  Collison, Cole Aldrich and Royal Ivey. Post-season. Despite a frustrating series against the Dallas Mavericks to end the season, community spirit surrounding the Thunder remained high after the season. An estimated 500 fans greeted the team's private charter flight as it arrived in Oklahoma City at 1:00 a.m. the night of the Thunder's final loss. After the conclusion of the season, several Thunder players appeared at three different youth camps hosted by the team at various locations around the OKC area in June, until the NBA lockout prohibited players from appearing at Thunder camps after June 30 . Kevin Durant hosted his own camp from June 29–30 in OKC, and from July 1–2 in Austin, Texas. Player statistics. Regular season. Sources: OKC Thunder 2010–11 Statistics Playoffs. Source: OKC Thunder 2011 Playoff Statistics