Blame The Clippers For Creating This Thunder Monster

OKLAHOMA CITY — Don’t blasted nan refs, blasted the Clippers.

They created this monster. They sent it retired into nan world.

The Oklahoma City Thunder, top-seeded successful nan NBA playoffs for nan 3rd consecutive season, are moving roughshod complete opponents. Kicking everybody’s butts and driving everyone up nan wall.

And, oh, Clippers what did you do?

This Oklahoma City juggernaut, built to past successful an era that would different beryllium remembered for its parity?

It was spawned connected July 6, 2019, erstwhile nan Clippers traded Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari and a boatload of draught picks to nan Thunder successful speech for Paul George, who they paired pinch free supplier Kawhi Leonard, mortgaging their early connected nan grounded stake that 2 Southern Californians would lead nan franchise to its first NBA title.

And by a boatload, I mean a battleship-sized vessel — sent to descend nan remainder of nan NBA.

The defending NBA champions who were built mostly done that waste and acquisition — successful which nan Clippers relinquished their first-round prime successful 2022, 2024, 2026 positive prime switch authorities successful 2023 and 2025 — person the Lakers successful nan blender astatine present.

The Thunder’s 125-107 victory Thursday astatine Paycom Center gave them a 2-0 successful nan best-of-seven second-round series.

Undefeated truthful acold this postseason, Oklahoma City soon will dispatch nan shorthanded Lakers and past spell marching connected toward a defense of past year’s NBA championship.

In 2025, they became nan second-youngest squad successful convention history to triumph it, capping their franchise-record 68-win season. This year, Gilgeous-Alexander apt will repetition arsenic MVP aft starring nan Thunder to a 64-18 regular-season record.

SGA, nan stylish, maddening, smooth-operating Canadian constituent guard, is nan caput of nan boa constrictor. And nan young, selfless squad astir him is putting nan compression connected opponents pinch ridiculous depth, overmuch of it stockpiled via that trade.

That includes nan 2022 first-round pick, which became Oklahoma City’s second-best player, Jalen Williams (who is injured and hasn’t moreover played successful this series). Also, 2023 first-round prime Cason Wallace, an elite defender and businesslike violative contributor, delivered nan dagger Thursday pinch 8 fourth-quarter points.

Thunder defender Cason Wallace, right, defends Lakers guardant LeBron James, left, during nan 2nd half of Game 2.

(Nate Billings / Associated Press)

George is now playing for nan Philadelphia 76ers, having near nan Clippers successful free agency successful 2024. But they’re still paying nan Thunder for his services, which sewage them only arsenic acold arsenic nan Western Conference finals successful 2021.

The Thunder decidedly don’t request reinforcements, but because nan Clippers grounded to make nan playoffs this season, Oklahoma City will beryllium successful play successful nan draught lottery Sunday — betwixt Games 3 and 4 — pinch a 1.5% chance of getting nan No. 1 wide pick, and a 7.1% chance of moving into nan apical four.

With that anticipation successful mind, nan Thunder didn’t hesitate to waste and acquisition different of their 2026 first-round picks (and 3 early second-rounders) for sharpshooting defender Jared McCain, nan Corona kid whose 13 second-half points Thursday were absolute backbreakers.

So while Lakers coach JJ Redick has talked astir limiting nan Thunder successful those minutes erstwhile Gilgeous-Alexander isn’t connected nan court, guardant Rui Hachimurahas nan correct assessment: “We’ve focused connected Shai a lot, but we gotta springiness these different guys much respect. They’re awesome players.”

There is, aft all, much than 1 constituent to a buzzsaw.

The Clippers should person imagined it could spell for illustration this.

They were locked successful connected Leonard, I remember. And nan mega trade, arsenic nan Clippers saw it, was to get Leonard and George.

Clippers proprietor Steve Ballmer — 1 of nan richest group successful nan world, weighted astatine $133 billion, according to Forbes — wanted what he wanted.

I’m nary financial expert, but if personification tries to waste you a portion of pastry for $28 cardinal — humbly, I deliberation you should pass.

Leonard wasn’t going to enactment successful Toronto, wherever he’d conscionable led nan Raptors to a title. And he wouldn’t person wanted to play 2nd fiddle [or third] to LeBron James and Anthony Davis connected nan Lakers. And he would person been overmuch amended disconnected arsenic a Clipper if his squad had draught picks to fortify it for nan coming seasons and a burgeoning prima astatine constituent guard.

Who could’ve known SGA would go a perennial MVP candidate?

Well, SGA did.

“Mentally, I show myself each nighttime that I’m nan champion subordinate connected nan level and I want everybody successful nan arena to cognize that and consciousness that,” he said connected nan NBA’s “Pass nan Rock” series, not agelong aft he was traded.

“I wanna beryllium known arsenic 1 of nan champion players to play nan game. Watching guys for illustration Kobe increasing up, I spell to schoolhouse and nan statement is, who’s better, Kobe aliases LeBron? Who’s better, Kobe aliases Michael? I want those conversations to beryllium astir myself.”

Imagine that, this driven characteristic successful a Clippers uniform, a less-reticent prima beside Leonard — and a Thunder squad that wasn’t built to perfectly terrorize nan convention for years to come.