The Oklahoma City Thunder have caught the eyes and ears of the NBA world throughout the 2024 calendar year. After winning 57 games last regular season and following it up with an offseason for the ages, the buzz surrounding the Bricktown boys will only mount as the games get underway.
From current and former players to analysts and fans, many concur that the Thunder are the team to beat in the Western Conference and are neck-and-neck with the defending champion Boston Celtics to win this season’s Larry O’Brien Trophy.
The start of the new year marked the official end of Oklahoma City’s rebuild and framed the memories of the last five years. The stunning voyage had Thunder players of yesteryear doubtful of the team’s direction when it decided to tear things down and start over completely.
Former Thunder guard dishes on new-look Thunder
From three promising selections in June's NBA Draft to offseason acquisitions of Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein, the Thunder left no doubts in anyone’s mind that this offseason was meant to push their championship odds to the stratosphere in 2024.
Adding a pair of elite niche stars to a growing cast of rising stars is a formula that OKC believes can overtake the league this season. And if it works out as many are expecting, it could birth a brand-new blueprint that most of the association will look to emulate. However, while the Thunder aim to become the gold standard in the NBA, they are met with a season that demands either title or bust.
Everyone will be watching the season unfold for the Blue and Orange, including former Thunder defensive ace Andre Roberson. Like Oklahoma City, the ex-NBA guard experienced a transition this summer, signing with Cholet Basket of LNB Pro A.
As he celebrates a return to the hardwood, he’ll be cheering on his former team and witnessing its incredible rise to the top.
"I don’t think I knew or anybody knew what the direction of the Thunder was gonna be after everything kind of exploded,” Roberson told HoopsHype.com. “But it’s dope that they embrace that and just kinda kept running with it, kept putting the work in, and doing the things that they’re doing now. So, making something special to get out there in OKC. And hopefully, maybe they can even do something further and greater than what we did and going to win a championship. So, I’m definitely rooting for them, and they always got me in their corner for sure.”
Andre’s career was headed in the right direction before he ruptured his left patellar tendon and was forced to miss the remainder of the season and the following 2018-19 season. He then made a brief comeback, including some time in the 2020 NBA Bubble. However, recapturing the momentum he once had was far-fetched.
At 32 years old, he aims to resume his pro career and assemble a star profile playing in France. For his role alongside Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook in the Thunder’s title-contending years, fans will always appreciate the former All-Defensive guard.
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