Welcome to Loud City, Welcome to the Future! As year three in Oklahoma City is set to get underway, one cannot help but think that Kevin Durant an Co. are due for a repeat of last years break out performance. Finishing 8th in the Western Conference and having taken the Los Angeles Lakers to Game 7 in their opening round series, the Thunder have set the bar high and have established themselves as a legitimate contender in the league this season.
With the #2 overall pick Kevin Durant spearheading the movement in Oklahoma City it is easy to understand how this team could be seen as being very one dimensional, but last season saw year two of the Russell Westbrook era soar to new heights and left fans with plenty to look forward to in 2010. The Long Beach native and former UCLA standout came from virtual obscurity out of high school and onto the scene his sophomore season for the Bruins when starting PG Darren Collison went down with an injury, forcing the untested shooting guard to take the point and man the offense. Yet while he surpassed expectations, it was his tenacity on the defensive end that earned him notoriety, earning Westbrook the 2008 Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year award and Third-Team All-Pac 10 honors.
Later that year Westbrook decided to go pro and was selected in the 1st Round, 4th overall by the then Seattle Supersonics. In his rookie season Westbrook again shined as he was named the Western Conference Rookie of the Month for December and February, just months into the start of his young and budding NBA career. Averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.9 RPG and 5.3 APG in his rookie season, Westbrook was selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team and was quietly supplanting himself as a great combo guard to the always lights out Kevin Durant.
Now entering year three, you can't help but think that the 2010 should be a breakout season for Westbrook. With a young nucleus of talent around him including Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, James Harden, Thabo Sefolosha, Serge Ibaka, veteran Nick Collison and rookie Cole Aldrich rounding out the top of the roster, Westbrook will have plenty of targets to distribute the ball to this season. With an off season to grow and coming off a run with USA Basketball that saw Durant, Westbrook and a number of the leagues rising stars win the Gold Medal in the 2010 FIBA World Championship, expect that experience and off season training to allow Westbrook transition effortlessly into the teams upcoming 82 game schedule.
Looking to build off of a promising year which saw the Thunder finish 50–32, more than doubling their win total from last season, the team is starting to build a winning tradition in what was once considered a rather questionable market. With Loud City, the clubs nickname and marketing campaign slogan for the OKC Thunder expecting to grow to new and exciting heights, expect Oklahoma City and its home court to give opponents fits again in 2010.
The Thunder ranked twelfth in overall attendance in the NBA last season, and seventh in percentage of available seats occupied (98%, including 28 sellouts in 41 home games). With numbers like these and a fan base to boot, the honeymoon effect might be over, but look for big things out of the team this season. With one of the toughest home courts in the league and a couple of years of experience under their belt, the Thunder should supplant themselves as a legitimate threat throughout the league this season and I look forward to great things out of Westbrook and Co. for years to come.
*Catch the Russell Westbrook YouTube Highlight Mix and more by clicking on the title of this article.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Sunday Spotlight: Russell Westbrook
Welcome to Loud City, Welcome to the Future! As year three in Oklahoma City is set to get underway, one cannot help but think that Kevin Durant an Co. are due for a repeat of last years break out performance. Finishing 8th in the Western Conference and having taken the Los Angeles Lakers to Game 7 in their opening round series, the Thunder have set the bar high and have established themselves as a legitimate contender in the league this season.
With the #2 overall pick Kevin Durant spearheading the movement in Oklahoma City it is easy to understand how this team could be seen as being very one dimensional, but last season saw year two of the Russell Westbrook era soar to new heights and left fans with plenty to look forward to in 2010. The Long Beach native and former UCLA standout came from virtual obscurity out of high school and onto the scene his sophomore season for the Bruins when starting PG Darren Collison went down with an injury, forcing the untested shooting guard to take the point and man the offense. Yet while he surpassed expectations, it was his tenacity on the defensive end that earned him notoriety, earning Westbrook the 2008 Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year award and Third-Team All-Pac 10 honors.
Later that year Westbrook decided to go pro and was selected in the 1st Round, 4th overall by the then Seattle Supersonics. In his rookie season Westbrook again shined as he was named the Western Conference Rookie of the Month for December and February, just months into the start of his young and budding NBA career. Averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.9 RPG and 5.3 APG in his rookie season, Westbrook was selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team and was quietly supplanting himself as a great combo guard to the always lights out Kevin Durant.
Now entering year three, you can't help but think that the 2010 should be a breakout season for Westbrook. With a young nucleus of talent around him including Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, James Harden, Thabo Sefolosha, Serge Ibaka, veteran Nick Collison and rookie Cole Aldrich rounding out the top of the roster, Westbrook will have plenty of targets to distribute the ball to this season. With an off season to grow and coming off a run with USA Basketball that saw Durant, Westbrook and a number of the leagues rising stars win the Gold Medal in the 2010 FIBA World Championship, expect that experience and off season training to allow Westbrook transition effortlessly into the teams upcoming 82 game schedule.
Looking to build off of a promising year which saw the Thunder finish 50–32, more than doubling their win total from last season, the team is starting to build a winning tradition in what was once considered a rather questionable market. With Loud City, the clubs nickname and marketing campaign slogan for the OKC Thunder expecting to grow to new and exciting heights, expect Oklahoma City and its home court to give opponents fits again in 2010.
The Thunder ranked twelfth in overall attendance in the NBA last season, and seventh in percentage of available seats occupied (98%, including 28 sellouts in 41 home games). With numbers like these and a fan base to boot, the honeymoon effect might be over, but look for big things out of the team this season. With one of the toughest home courts in the league and a couple of years of experience under their belt, the Thunder should supplant themselves as a legitimate threat throughout the league this season and I look forward to great things out of Westbrook and Co. for years to come.
*Catch the Russell Westbrook YouTube Highlight Mix and more by clicking on the title of this article.
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