National Basketball Association

[Laramie]

Oklahoma got its first glimpse of the Thunder in Monday's preseason game before an enthusiastic crowd of 12,055 inside the BOK Center in downtown Tulsa.

                         
                         Oklahoma City Thunder's Abel Nader drives to the basket around Dallas Mavericks' Isaiah Roby during a preseason NBA basketball game in Tulsa, Okla.,
                         Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2019. (AP Photo/Dave Crenshaw)(Dave Crenshaw / AP)--Dallas Morning News.

     TULSA, Okla. — Isaiah Roby's final statistics from his first game with the Mavericks included two points, six rebounds, three assists, one steal and two blocks in 17 minutes.

     What didn't show in the box score from Tuesday's 119-104 preseason loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder?

     Days worth of off-court learning for the rookie second-round pick.

     The curve started Monday afternoon, when Roby first boarded the team's private plane. When he played the last three seasons at Nebraska, the team traveled well, Roby said,
     but the Mavericks in-flight menu to Tulsa included California rolls.

     "Sushi on a plane?" Roby said. "In college, we were fighting for granola bars."

     Then hours before the preseason opener Tuesday, Roby walked onto the BOK Center court to take warm-up shots and saw Jeff Van Gundy preparing his notes for ESPN's
     game broadcast.

     Roby had one thought.

     "That's when it's like, 'It's finally here,'" Roby said.

     Roby's $1.5 million cap hit this season — part of the four-year, $6.7 million contract he signed this summer — will be the largest salary a player selected in the second round
     of the draft out of college has earned in his first NBA season.

     But his debut didn't come without lapses.

     Roby hasn't yet had a chance to develop a pregame routine. When he walked out of the training room before the game Tuesday, he realized he was 45 minutes ahead of
     schedule because the Mavericks have different benchmarks than he found a rhythm with in college.

     And he made just one of his six shot attempts from the field, including neither of his two tries from three, after entering the game midway through the third quarter.

     "At 46 in the draft, he's a steal," coach Rick Carlisle said. "But this is a big learning game for him, and it's pretty clear the things he's got to do. He's got to keep refining his
     long-range shot and get used to the NBA reads."

     ESPN Box score:  https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401163133


     Dallas Mavericks vs Oklahoma City Thunder - Full Highlights | October 8, 2019:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8igyKhp1Fs

[Laramie]

Oklahoma City Thunder are going thru an era of challenge post Westbrook, Durant, Ibaka & Harden era.  
NBA support has been strong since relocation of the NBA's Supersonics to OKC in 2008.  Thunder have enjoyed 392 consecutive sellouts since 2010 as of this day.  
Much of that support include season ticket sales & ticket packages from Tulsa & Wichita.

NBA Attendance:  http://www.espn.com/nba/attendance

Oklahoma City 2018 Urban & MSA population is estimated at 650,000 & 1.4 million respectively.  Standards dictate that it takes 1 million population per major league sport (MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL) to adequately support a major league sport.

Current efforts to address upgrades to Chesapeake Energy Arena to make it a viable NBA venue will include the passage of $104 million in renovation to our arena.

                   

                   

Price tag:  $115 million of a MAPS 4 initiative total of $978 million that will be presentation before OKC voters December 10 of this year.

         MAPS 4 Initiatives:


                         Parks ($140 million)
                         Youth Centers ($110 million)
                         Senior Wellness Centers ($30 million)
                         Mental Health and Addiction ($40 million)
                         Family Justice Center operated by Palomar ($38 million)
                         Transit ($87 million)
                         Sidewalks, bike lanes, trails and streetlights ($87 million)
                         Homelessness ($50 million)
                         Chesapeake Energy Arena and related facilities ($115 million)
                         Animal Shelter ($38 million)
                         Fairgrounds Coliseum ($63 million)
                         Diversion Hub ($17 million)
                         Innovation District ($71 million)
                         Freedom Center and Clara Luper Civil Rights Center ($25 million)
                         Beautification ($30 million)
                         Multipurpose Stadium ($37 million)

Many fans & posters are concerned about the team's competitiveness beginning the rebuilding; seen as a reset for the franchise.  It will be crucial for our community to support these initiatives to keep our largest indoor venue up-to-date.

[Laramie]

Just want to mention that the $115 million earmarked for the Arena upgrades includes $11 million in renovations to the City-owned Thunder's NBA practice facility.

[Laramie]

                                           
Chesapeake Energy Arena
                                     
Thunder Practice Facility

Oklahoma City voters overwhelming approved a 16 project package $978 million  MAPS 4  initiative by a 70% 'Yes' vote to include $115 million in improvements to the Chesapeake Energy Arena ($104 million) and Thunder Practice Facility ($11 million) in upgrades.  

This vote of confidence coupled with the recent 2017 (13 bond propositions) passage of the $967 million General Obligation Bonds will infuse $1.9 billion in new construction for  streets, bridges, transit construction & capital improvement projects.  Construction will span 2020-2028.


              2020 MAPS 4 Initiative ($978 million) :  https://journalrecord.com/2019/12/10/voters-approve-maps-4-in-a-landslide/
              2017 Bond Package ($967 million):  https://www.okc.gov/residents/better-streets-safer-city-projects/bond-package

[Laramie]

                              Oklahoma City Thunder reach .500

                           

                        Box score:  https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401161068

               House of Highlights:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLl4Eci-yGQ

[Laramie]

   NBA Teams Values 2020

   Here's the full list of NBA franchise valuations, per Forbes:

         _1.  New York Knicks: $4.6 billion
         _2.  Los Angeles Lakers: $4.4 billion
         _3.  Golden State Warriors: $4.3 billion
         _4.  Chicago Bulls: $3.2 billion
         _5.  Boston Celtics: $3.1 billion
         _6.  Los Angeles Clippers: $2.6 billion
         _7.  Brooklyn Nets: $2.5 billion
         _8.  Houston Rockets: $2.475 billion
         _9.  Dallas Mavericks: $2.4 billion
         10.  Toronto Raptors: $2.1 billion

         11.  Philadelphia 76ers: $2 billion
         12.  Miami Heat: $1.95 billion
         13.  Portland Trail Blazers: $1.85 billion
         14.  San Antonio Spurs: $1.8 billion
         15.  Sacramento Kings: $1.775 billion
         16.  Washington Wizards: $1.75 billion
         17.  Phoenix Suns: $1.625 billion
         18.  Denver Nuggets: $1.6 billion
         19.  Milwaukee Bucks: $1.58 billion
         20.  Oklahoma City Thunder: $1.575 billion

         21.  Utah Jazz: $1.55 billion
         22.  Indiana Pacers: $1.525 billion
         23.  Atlanta Hawks: $1.52 billion
         24.  Cleveland Cavaliers: $1.51 billion
         25.  Charlotte Hornets: $1.5 billion
         26.  Detroit Pistons: $1.45 billion
         27.  Orlando Magic: $1.43 billion
         28.  Minnesota Timberwolves: $1.375 billion
         29.  New Orleans Pelicans: $1.35 billion
         30.  Memphis Grizzlies: $1.3 billion

Source:  https://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2020/02/11/nba-team-values-2020-lakers-and-warriors-join-knicks-in-rarefied-4-billion-club/#d5806a22032f

[Laramie]

Thunder @ Knicks

Madison Square Garden, New York City
Friday, March 6, 2020, 6:30 PM
TV/Radio: FSOK/98.1 FM

OKC - Darius Bazley (SF), A. Roberson (SG), (2) Day-To-Day

Player Injury/Status Report

NYK - M. Robinson (C) Day-To-Day, D. Smith Jr. (PG), K. Allen (SG) (2) Out

20 games remain, 8 Home, 12 Away

[Laramie]

Thunder vs. Jazz -  2:30 p.m.,CT,  Saturday, August 1, 2020 in Orlando.  All Thunder games on Fox Sports Oklahoma

             

https://www.nba.com/thunder/video/okc-in-orl?utm_source=email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=200626ThunderinOrlando&elqTrackId=2b23c60ae21d45bd8b57f8f711f5d5ad&elq=dd61fa29f451449987c52db249ed8c27&elqaid=5059&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=3060

[Laramie]

Rockets' Russell Westbrook to produce docuseries about 1921 Tulsa race massacre



NBA ESPN https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29290054/rockets-russell-westbrook-produce-docuseries-1921-tulsa-race-massacre

[Laramie]

OKC signs fan favorite Dort to multiyear contract

Thunder re-sign Luguentz Dort, 21, to multiyear deal https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29360022/thunder-re-sign-luguentz-dort-21-multiyear-deal

[Laramie]

         
Undrafted free agent & Pick #23 In 1st Round of 2019 NBA Draft

[Laramie]

     

               Congratulations Billy, so deserving of a job well done...

[Laramie]

The schedule Saturday & Sunday are Eastern Standard Times; subtract an hour for Central Time Zone.

State TV:  Fox Oklahoma (Oklahoma City & Tulsa).

The quarter final series between the Thunder and Rockets are tied 2 - 2.

[Laramie]

Another 1st round exit against a veteran laced team that included 3 former Thunder stars (Harden, Green & Westbrook) who were starters.

Proud of our Thunder guys to take this all the way to a 7 game series. Wanna see who we keep and who we draft for next season. Maybe there's another Luguentz Dort out there who was originally an un-drafted pick up by the Thunder in the 2019 draft or a Darius Bazley the 21st pick in the 2019 draft.

Luguentz Dort was a real challenge for former Thunder great James Harden.


Darius Blazley added the 3 point shot to his arsenal.

[Laramie]

Oklahoma's NBA, The Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder have released their new 'City Edition' uniforms for the upcoming season.

For the first time, only the name "Oklahoma" will appear across the chest of the Thunder's jersey. The all caps black lettering is similar to the font on the state flag.