The Greatest Dynasty That Never Was

What if OKC hadn’t panic-traded James Harden in 2012?

Miami, June 21, 2012

Down 118–96 with three minutes left to play in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, James Harden joins Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook on the bench, as the Thunder teammates watch their season tick away. The outcome sinks in, and they’re forced to passively watch LeBron James celebrate the title that forever alluded him.

At the final buzzer, the Thunder trio bob and weave through the ongoing championship celebration, but not before LeBron and Dwyane Wade pay their respects. While Durant congratulates LeBron, Wade leans in to the younger Harden, whispering in his ear: “We’ll see you guys next year.”

As the curtains close on the 2011–12 NBA season, LeBron and Wade sit atop the throne, while the Oklahoma City kids are forced to wait their turn.

Oklahoma City, October 24, 2012

The Thunder’s General Manager, Sam Presti, watches his team practice from his executive office overlooking the court. Coming off the close Finals loss in June — well, maybe not that close — there’s a lot for Presti to like as his team enters the season as the most talented young core in the league. In Durant, Westbrook, Harden, and Ibaka, Oklahoma City has the second-best player in the league, a top 10 player, a top 20 player — both of whom look like future MVP candidates — and a reliable rim protector…all 24 years old and younger.

Now in the final year of his contract, Harden spent the preseason negotiating a new contract with Presti. Presti’s dilemma is this: Since he is already paying Durant and Westbrook “max” money, while shelling out $12 million a year for Serge Ibaka, paying Harden what he wants means that he would also have to pay the luxury tax. After dancing around the subject since the summer, both sides reach a mutual agreement: they will let it play out until the following summer, giving Harden the opportunity to test free agency, while Presti retains for himself the option to match any max offer Harden receives.

Oklahoma City, April 23, 2013

Prelude: The Thunder rack up 60 wins en route to clinching the first seed in the Western Conference, as Durant and Westbrook are All-Stars for the fourth and third consecutive season, respectively, while Harden is chosen to take part in his first All-Star Game. Going into the postseason, an NBA Finals rematch appears inevitable, with the Heat and Thunder beginning Round One against the eighth-seeded Bucks and Rockets.

After winning Game 1 handedly, Westbrook injures his right knee in Game 2, after Rockets guard Patrick Beverley collides with him in an attempt to steal the ball. The next day, it’s revealed that Westbrook has suffered a slight tear in his right meniscus, a tear that requires surgery. Two days later, Presti declares that Westbrook is out for the rest of the playoffs.

In Westbrook’s absence, Harden displays his second-banana potential, helping Durant lead the Thunder first past the Rockets and then past the Grizzlies. In the Western Conference Finals, the void left by Westbrook proves to be too much, as the Spurs cruise to a 4–1 Series win, culminating in Miami’s second consecutive championship.

Miami, June 17, 2014

Prelude: Following a roller-coaster year — Harden almost holding out before signing a five-year max deal, Durant winning the MVP, and Westbrook being in and out of the lineup until March — the Thunder meet the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals. During the final moments of Game 7, Harden births his clutch alter-ego. Tied at 96 with two minutes left in the fourth quarter, Harden scores eight straight points to send the Thunder back to the NBA Finals in a rematch with the Heat. In the Finals, Westbrook’s 42 points in Game 5 put the Thunder one win away from a championship.

Back in the Arena where they saw their title hopes dashed two years prior, the Thunder face a six-point deficit with 7 minutes left, despite Durant’s 34 points. Nevertheless, Durant wastes no time taking over the game, scoring the Thunder’s next 11 points to give OKC a two-point lead with 3 minutes to go. Holding a 109–105 lead with 40 seconds left, Durant sinks a six-foot floater, sealing the Thunder’s first championship.

Durant becomes the 11th player to win the NBA MVP and Finals MVP in the same season, joining Willis Reed, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, Larry Bird (2x), Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan (4x), Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan, and LeBron James.

As LeBron congratulates Durant at midcourt, it feels like a torch has been passed. Not only has Durant arguably usurped LeBron as the league’s best player, the Thunder themselves look to be on the cusp of a dynasty — with the Big 3 still toward the early part of their mid-twenties.

Oakland, May 13, 2015

Prelude: After missing the first eight weeks of the season because of a Jones fracture, Durant’s injuries compiled following his return, with the reigning MVP injuring his ankle in December and spraining his toe in January. After undergoing a minor procedure on his repaired foot in February, Durant was officially ruled out for the season on March 27. In his absence, Westbrook and Harden showed their superstar potential, as the former became the first player since Michael Jordan in 1989 to have four consecutive triple-doubles, while the latter averaged a career-best 25/6/5.

Even so, the duo’s spectacular performances were only enough to clinch the 4th seed in a loaded Western Conference. After ousting the Grizzlies in six games, the Thunder ran into a buzzsaw against the one-seeded Warriors in the Second Round. Having no answer for NBA MVP Steph Curry the Warriors win in five games, en route to their first NBA Championship.

Oklahoma City, June 13, 2016

Prelude: With a healthy Durant, the Thunder entered the 2015–16 season with a chip on their shoulder. Heading into the season, Oklahoma City shamelessly shrugged off the Warriors’ championship as luck, in that they didn’t have to battle a fully healthy Thunder core. Despite the Thunder’s intention to wreak havoc on the league, it was the defending-champion Warriors who instead dominated the regular season. Backed by Curry’s second consecutive MVP, the Warriors eclipsed the ’96 Bulls’ 72 wins, running the Thunder off the floor during their two regular season match-ups. After both teams steamrolled through the first two rounds, they met in the Western Conference Finals, where the Thunder ousted the Warriors in Game 7. Once again, King James awaited. After splitting the first two games, the Thunder won Games three and four in Cleveland, on the back of two career-defining performances by Durant.

Going into the fourth quarter of Game 5, numerous legacies were at stake, with LeBron trying to stave off his third straight loss in the Finals, while Durant looked to win his second championship and Finals MVP. After a back-and-forth battle for three quarters, Durant heated up at the start of the fourth, hitting three straight three-pointers to give the Thunder a 15-point lead with nine minutes to play. The Thunder never looked back.

Durant’s third 35-plus game of the series earned him his second Finals MVP, as the Thunder won their second title in three years.

As the buzzer sounded, a new narrative was forming — with two championships and Finals MVPs to his name, had Durant begun to usurp LeBron as the greatest player of their generation?

The same happened at the team level. When LeBron, Wade, and Bosh signed for Miami, they were dubbed the Big 3. They’ve now been securely displaced by an even more impressive and successful Big 3: Durant, Westbrook, and Harden.

Boston, June 15, 2017

Prelude: For the first time in league history, the Thunder had three players start in the All-Star Game. Harden justified his place among the top 5 players in the league, averaging of 26/6/6. Unfathomably, Harden’s season took a backseat to Westbrook, as the latter averaged 28/9/6. Further, Durant’s exceptional play was viewed as sub-par compared to his standards, despite averaging 25/4/8. After finishing with 66 wins, the Thunder became the first team since the 1970 Lakers — Kareem, West, Baylor — to have three players average 25-plus points per game. Further, they became the first team ever to have three players selected to the All-NBA First Team. OKC’s unprecedented individual accomplishments culminated in Westbrook winning the NBA MVP, as the engine that keeps the Thunder machine rolling.

During their time together, the alpha dog role has alternated across the Big 3 like the league has never seen. This is sort of like an alpha collective. Three headstrong, absolutely dominant athletes playing together in their prime. Yet in a season dominated by Westbrook and Harden, Durant still hovered slightly above the rest, leading the Thunder to the NBA Finals by averaging 30/7/7 during the first three rounds. Their Finals matchup? The Boston Celtics. After blowing a chance to win the championship at home, the Thunder went back to Boston for Game 6, up 3–2 in the series. In that game, the Thunder ran out to an early 20 point lead, never looking back, culminating in a 15-point win, giving them their third title in four years.

In their three prior Finals appearances, Durant had unquestionably been the Thunder’s best player. Against the Celtics, that was not the case, as each superstar gave a powerful argument for being named Finals MVP. Westbrook was the front-runner after dropping 22/16/12 in Game 1; Durant passed him with his back-to-back 30-point displays in Games 2 and 3; but in Games 4 and 5, Harden had inched ahead with two 35-point, 15-assist games. In Game 6, Harden went 30/6/5 to earn the Finals MVP honors.

Following their third championship, the narrative steered away from their dynastic potential, instead focusing on the unprecedented individual abilities possessed by each member of the game’s greatest ever concentration of talent. LeBron is still angling to shore up his legacy, the Warriors are doing all they can to become Thunder killers, but with three titles by the age of 28, the Thunder’s Big 3 don’t appear to show any signs of letting up. If anything, they could embark on a new run that becomes the greatest the league has ever seen.