5. The Best That Never Was – The OKC Thunder (Almost) Dynasty
I don’t think anyone would argue that we need a documentary on the almost dynasty that was the Oklahoma City Thunder. With Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, and Serge Ibaka all on the roster, the Thunder only managed to make the NBA Finals once. It ended in disappointment when OKC lose to the Miami Heat in five games.
However, even after losing to the Heat in the 2012 NBA Finals, many expected it was the start of something special in OKC. Instead, OKC traded Harden a few months later (before the start of the 2021-13 season) and would fail to make it back to the NBA Finals.
Harden would blossom into the offensive juggernaut that he is today, and OKC would continue to fall short in the playoffs before breaking up the team in the next few years. In 2016, the Thunder would trade Serge Ibaka to the Orlando Magic before losing Kevin Durant in free agency in July.
OKC continued with Westbrook for three seasons before they elected to trade him during the summer of 2019 to the Houston Rockets.
Money was ultimately blamed as one of the biggest culprits in the break up of the Thunder’s Big Three, but it was extremely premature and left many fans with more questions than answers.