Oklahoma City Thunder
Mar 24, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) handles the ball against Portland Trailblazers forward Nicolas Batum (88) during the first half at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
The Thunder Are Thankful For: Portland’s Decision to Draft Greg Oden
The Thunder are decimated by injuries at the moment, but that doesn’t change the good fortune that they have accumulated over the past eight seasons.
Consequently, the thing the Thunder should be thankful for is the good fortune of having the Portland Trail Blazers select Greg Oden over Kevin Durant. Because Portland was so enamored by the gentle seven-footer out of Ohio State, Oklahoma City (Seattle at the time) was able to scoop up the wiry freshman who was lighting up scoreboards at Texas.
A few injuries to Oden and a few scoring titles for Durant later, the Thunder have one of the five best players on the planet because Portland did not believe Durant was better than the oft-injured Oden.