Anxious Anticipation

It won’ t be too long now and frankly, I’m counting the days until the start of the 2024-2025 NBA basketball season. I suppose that if Oklahoma did not have it’s own professional team, playing in the City, I might then be leaning towards cheering for the success of the Sacramento Kings, Sacramento being the last city of residency (Roseville, to be exact) before my return to Oklahoma in the early nineties. After a successful season, where we surely exceeded our expectations, much to the surprise of the entire NBA nation, including the various “talking heads” of ESPN, ending up as top seed in the Western Conference, which is nothing to sneeze at. We’re earning respect, one game at a time and during the course of the off-season, some changes have occurred. Much beloved, but ill-fitted Josh Giddey (I had chosen “JG-3 as a moniker for him) was sent to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for seasoned veteran and post season tested, Alex Caruso and with the addition of big man, Isaiah Hartenstein, all Thunder fans must surely be anxiously waiting to see what the blending of these two talents will do for the fortunes of the team as a whole. SGA (Shai Gilgeous=Alexander, Lu Dort, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams and a great supporting cast off the bench are all going to be much better from the work put in during the offseason. Bank on it. Even before these acquisitions, things were looking up and yet as the start of the new season looms on the horizon, the NBA talking heads are spewing a little bit of negativity regarding how far this team will go this time. Who really knows but hopes are high, the big prize of the NBA championship is one again up for grabs, the Boston Celtic look to repeat as champions, the Thunder are favored by many in the West, other teams in the “top tier” have made some roster adjustments to increase their chances for success and when the clock strikes “go”, it’ll be back to one game at a time. Thunder Up!!! The force that is Oklahoma City Thunder is coming!