Team USA or Team Canada? OKC Thunder fans are divided for possible Paris Olympics game

Club or country?

That’s the conundrum for Thunder fans in these Paris Olympics . Root for the red, white and blue, or for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu ?

The Canadians (2-0) and Americans (2-0) are well-positioned to win their respective men’s basketball groups , which could lead to a border showdown in the knockout rounds.

If they do meet, the allegiance of Thunder fans will be split.

I posted a poll Monday on X, asking Thunder fans: “Who would you root for in a possible USA-Canada Olympic men’s basketball game .”

As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, the results were 60%/40% in favor of Canada. More than 2,300 votes were tallied.

LIVE UPDATES: Canada vs Spain score updates, TV channel, streaming for 2024 Paris Olympics basketball

Granted, the poll was far from scientific. For one, I should’ve specified that only Thunder fans in the U.S. should vote. Even then, there’s no way to ensure that. So the poll could’ve been tainted by Thunder fans living outside the U.S. Especially Thunder fans in Canada.

Still, the 20-point gap was staggering. It suggested there had to be a significant portion of Thunder fans in Oklahoma and around the U.S. who planned to support the Canadians because of Gilgeous-Alexander and Dort — the two longest-tenured Thunder players.

Sure enough, I heard from lots of those fans.

Like Becky Rowan, 60, from Owasso: “Shai and Lu represent our team and OKC as true professionals and they appreciate us as fans. I’m hoping they beat the USA team and win a medal for their country.”

And Jacob Holinsworth, 25, from Norman: “I care more about my Oklahoma representation than American.”

David Fulgham, 53, from Shawnee: “No Thunder players on the USA team, so they can suck it.”

Tell us how you really feel, David.

Maverick Edmounds was in the minority.

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Wrote Edmounds, 27, from Tulsa: “I love Shai and Dort as much as the next Thunder fan. Shai is knocking on the door of becoming my favorite player ever right behind Russ. It will just always be America > players. That won’t stop me from rooting for Canada when they don’t play America, though! That silver medal will look nice on those guys.”

Chad Scott, 37, from Yukon, was on Edmounds’ side: “As a Thunder fan, I’m always going to hope Shai and Lu play well and succeed for Team Canada. However, my Thunder fandom does not supersede my love and pride for country.”

For the American Thunder fans who would cheer for Canada, Edmounds posed a hypothetical: What will they do four years from now if SGA and Dort are still playing for Team Canada, and still playing for the Thunder, against a U.S. team that includes Thunder players Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren?

Maybe the pro-Canada Thunder fans of present will be wearing a “Holmgren” USA jersey in 2028.

“Let me die in this old uniform in which I fought my battles,” Benedict Arnold, according to legend, said on his deathbed. “May God forgive me for ever having put on another.”

Speaking of traitors …

“Love Team USA and always cheer for us, but can’t cheer for a guy that tried to sabotage my hometown team, so I will cheer for the guys that represent my hometown team,” said Dustin Johnson, 41, of Moore.

The accused saboteur, of course, is Kevin Durant.

The win in 1776 was nice and all, but it doesn’t erase the sting of 2016. Not around here, at least.

More: How Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Canada past Australia, former Thunder teammate Josh Giddey

Johnson was far from the only Thunder fan to mention Durant in his reasoning. A combination of the pro-SGA and Dort voters with the anti-KD’ers might explain the 60/40 split.

(No matter that Durant, the best player to ever don a Thunder jersey, is the greatest Olympic men’s basketball player in Team USA history. Durant is Team USA’s all-time leading scorer and is vying to become the first American men’s basketball player to win four gold medals.)

“I’m pro USA, but this version of Team USA is hard to root for,” said Doug Morris, 50, from Perry.

If we do get the dream USA-Canada matchup, let’s open Paycom Center for a watch party. Team USA supporters on one side and Canada backers on the other — bonded by their shared love of SGA and Dort.

Let’s stock the concession stands with hamburgers and poutine, Bud Lights and Labatt Blues.

A morning tip-off, you say? Dunkin’ and Tim Hortons on the house.

Because outside of the Great White North, there might not be a bigger population of Canadian supporters than right here in Oklahoma City — a city divided.

Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at jmussatto@oklahoman.com . Support Joe's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com .

More: How Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Canada past Australia, former Thunder teammate Josh Giddey

Canada vs. Spain

• When: 10:15 a.m. CT Friday
• Streaming: Peacock

Watch the 2024 Paris Olympics live with Fubo (free trial)

U.S. vs. Puerto Rico

• When: 10:15 a.m. CT Saturday
• TV: NBC

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Team USA or Team Canada? OKC Thunder fans are divided for possible Paris Olympics game