Oklahoma City Thunder: 2 Season-defining questions and 1 bold prediction

Was last season an aberration?

The elephant in the room when discussing the prospects of the Oklahoma City Thunder heading into this season revolves around whether last season was an aberration or whether it was a sign of things to come. With as much talent as the Thunder have on their roster, you'd imagine last season was just the start for this franchise. However, there has to be at least some concern that it could've been a "flash in the pan" success. The Thunder will have to prove themselves one way or another this season.

For the Thunder, this season will be remembered as a success or failure based on how they compete in the Western Conference compared to last season. Fair or not, the barometer for the Thunder has been raised to contender status after the huge jump in their development that they made last year.

If the Thunder does fall short of finishing as a top 3 seed in the Western Conference regular season standings and fail to make an even deeper run in the NBA Playoffs, this season is probably going to end up as a failure.