Oklahoma City Thunder Team Profile and Analysis: Western Conference – Northwest Division NBA
Get to know about the Oklahoma City Thunder team, its profile and the overall team analysis. Read to know more about the NBA team today.
The Western Conference is another of the two conferences that constitute the National Basketball Association (NBA), with the Eastern Conference being the other component of the same. Both of the conferences comprise 15 teams partitioned into three divisions. The current divisional structure was adopted at the outset of the 2004-05 season. The Western Conference championship trophy was originally granted by the NBA during the 2000-01 season, and it was named after Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson in the 2021-22 season. In 2021-22, the league established the Earvin “Magic” Johnson Trophy, dedicated after Hall of Famer Magic Johnson, for the Western Conference Finals Most Valuable Player.
A Look at the Northwest Division of the Western Conference
The Northwest Division makes up one of three divisions in the National Basketball Association’s Western Conference (NBA). The division is comprised up of the Denver Nuggets, Portland Trail Blazers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Utah Jazz. The division was established at the start of the 2004-05 season when the league elevated its size from 29 to 30 teams with the entrance of the Charlotte Bobcats.
The Utah Jazz has been the most subsequent division champions, earning a fifth division crown in the 2021-22 NBA season. The SuperSonics-Thunder franchise has earned the most Northwest Division titles, having six, followed by the Nuggets and Jazz with five each, the Trail Blazers having two, and the Timberwolves having none. All four clubs who qualified for the playoffs in 2009-10 each had more than 50 victories, whereas all four teams that advanced for the playoffs in 2018-19 each had a minimum of 49 wins.
Coaching Staff, Owners and Trainers of the Oklahoma City Thunder
Coaching Staff:
Mark Daigneault is the present head coach of the National Basketball Association’s Oklahoma City Thunder. He commenced his coaching career as a student manager under Jim Calhoun from 2003 to 2007. Mark was an assistant coach for the Florida Gators from 2010 to 2014 and the head coach of the Oklahoma City Blue in the NBA G Division from 2014 to 2019. During the 2019-20 season, he was appointed as an assistant coach and was later advanced to head coach in November 2020.
Assistant Coach:
Mike Wilks
Dave Bliss
Assistant Coach for Player Development:
Eric Maynor
Connor Johnson
Trainer: Roger Sancho
Owner:
The Oklahoma City Thunder are owned by the Clay Bennett-led Professional Basketball Association LLC. It also owns possession of the Oklahoma City Blue (NBA G League affiliate). PBC bought the Seattle SuperSonics and Seattle Storm out from the Basketball Club of Seattle. Following this, the team shifted to Oklahoma City and started playing as the Oklahoma City Thunder commencing with the 2008-09 season. PBC’s board of directors includes Clay Bennett, George B. Kaiser, G. Jefferey Records, William M. Cameron, and Robert E. Howard II, Jay Scaramucci, as well as others.
Oklahoma City Thunder (Overview):
The squad began as the Seattle SuperSonics, an expansion franchise that entered the NBA for the 1967-68 season. The Seattle SuperSonics migrated to Oklahoma City in 2008 after an agreement had been made between the ownership group led by Clay Bennett and Seattle lawmakers following litigation. The SuperSonics competed in the NBA playoffs 22 times, winning their division six times, progressed to three NBA Finals, and won the NBA Championship in 1979 in Seattle.
During the 2009-10 season, the Oklahoma City Thunder secured their first playoff appearance. They claimed their first division championship as the Thunder in 2010-11 and their initial Western Conference championship as the Thunder in 2011-12, participating in the NBA Finals for the fourth season in franchise history and the first time after 1996, when the franchise was situated in Seattle. Since relocating to Oklahoma City, the squad has yet to claim a championship.
Achievements:
The Oklahoma City Thunder have claimed their only NBA championship since their founding in the 1967-68 tournament. They have participated in three NBA finals. During the first seven seasons, the franchise was unable to make the playoffs. It made it to the finals for the first time in 1978 but was ousted by the Washington Bullets. However, they won the championship the following season after overcoming the same enemies 4-1. The Oklahoma City Thunder also received 4 Conference titles in 1978, 1979, 1996, and 2012, as well as 11 Division titles.
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