Getty Image / Jonathan Bachman
When you think about it, it’s kind of strange that Oklahoma City has an NBA team. Let’s face it, when you look at the other 27 cities that have NBA teams, they’re a little out of place.
But, once the Seattle SuperSonics relocated from Seattle to Oklahoma City following the 2007-2008 season, the Oklahoma City Thunder have been one of the most successful franchises in the NBA in that time. Despite no championships, few teams have had more winning seasons.
The franchise, which already had Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant when it moved to Oklahoma City, and added James Harden following the first year in OKC, has only had 4 losing seasons out of the 15 they’ve been there. And, while things have been lean the last few years as they undergo one of the most transformative rebuilds in major American pro sports history, the future is incredibly bright.
Oklahoma City already has a budding superstar in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a great young player in Josh Giddey, and a really exciting center prospect in Chet Holmgren, who missed his rookie season with an injury but has dominated in the NBA Summer League. Tons of other good young pieces join an incredible amount of draft picks. The Thunder own an incredible 7 first rounders the next two drafts, with very attractive picks such as a top-4 protected Rockets pick and a 2025 Clippers first rounder that could end up being worth its weight in gold.
But, the team needs a new arena. The Paycom Center, opened in 2002, has a relatively small capacity for an NBA team and lacks many modern amenities and revenue stream that plenty of other arenas have around the league. But, they could be getting a new one, as Oklahoma City mayor David Holt endorsed a project to build a new arena.
Read the thread below for more information.
OKC Mayor David Holt in his annual State of the City address: "Our arena is too small, it has too little investment in it, and it is trending towards being too old.
— Joe Mussatto (@joe_mussatto) July 20, 2023
A new arena to potentially help usher in a decade of Oklahoma City Thunder dominance? Sounds like a good investment to me.