OKC Thunder
OKC Thunder Success a Perfect Storm of Stars, Staff, and Community
I’m no hoops expert, but it seems at the end of the day that
the young legs of key stars, the shrewd strategic maneuvers of staff,
and a boisterous home crowd all contributed to a startling turnaround in
the 2012 NBA Western Conference Finals that pushed the Oklahoma City
Thunder to 4 consecutive victories over the more experienced San Antonio
Spurs to win the series 4 games to 2.
Which makes you realize that in the big picture, the success story that has become the OKC Thunder is really a perfect storm of 3 key ingredients.
(1) Star players playing like studs, (2) Coaching staff making key moves on the court and team executives making shrewd decisions behind the scenes, and (3) Devoted fans that support their pros with a collegiate-like enthusiasm.
Seemed apropos during the Thunder’s post-game press conference that they acknowledged the greatness of the Spurs organization they had just beat, because in many ways the stories underlying the history of both franchises are eerily similar.
Both cities would be classified as mid-sized markets. According to the Census Bureau’s 2010 MSA estimates, San Antonio is 24th with 2.1 million people and OKC is 42nd with 1.3 million.
Both teams are the only pro sports team in their respective communities, and both have a nearby major university with a huge college athletics presence (Univ of Oklahoma in Norman and Univ of Texas in Austin).
Both teams were fortunate enough to have high draft picks AND wise enough to make the right selections. Consider in the 1997 NBA Draft how history would be different for the Spurs if they had selected Keith Van Horn (the number 2 overall that year) rather than Tim Duncan. Conversely, where would the Thunder be if the Portland Trailblazers selected Kevin Durant first in the 2007 NBA Draft rather than Greg Odom. Thankfully, the Blazers left KD be…allowing him to fall to the Thunder at #2.
Just as the Spurs carefully constructed their championship core years ago through both the draft and trades with pieces like Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and at times wily veterans like Steve Kerr and Robert Horry, the Thunder drafted Durant in 2007, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka in 2008, and James Hardin in 2009. Sprinkle a little Kendrick Perkins and throw in a wily sharp shooting veteran like Derek Fisher, and your basketball operations staff look like geniuses.
And both teams have fine coaches. Greg Popovich has arguably been the league’s second-best coach over the last 15 years (trailing only Phil Jackson), given his team’s consistency and excellence. Scott Brooks has a ways to go to reach those heights, but he certainly is on a nice trajectory.
===
As I watched the celebration in OKC last night, I really felt good for the community and for the NBA…partly because I have some connection to the city dating back about 8 years. I’ve conducted market research at the NCAA Division I Women’s College World Series in 2004 and 2005, and when I drive west from St Louis to Los Angeles during the summers OKC is always my first stop so I can spend some time in Bricktown…a cool agglomeration of restaurants, shops, and festivities which is a great place for convention visitors and tourists to get a feel for OKC’s urban side.
But like San Antonio, OKC is a smaller market…and without competition from any other professional sports teams, the city has embraced the team as if members of their own family. In part because of the lack of competition for pro sports loyalties and discretionary spending, and in part because the folks in these parts are use to showing their youthfully exuberant support for the region’s collegiate powerhouse (Univ of Oklahoma), these factors combine to create the fervor and passion that is now becoming nationally exposed the further the Thunder move into the playoffs.
Consistent with a Forbes piece authored last week which touched partly on this topic, the economic structure of the NBA (especially in light of the new owner-friendly CBA) makes it easier for small-market teams to have a chance for success…unlike what we see in Major League Baseball. Cities like Utah, Sacramento, Portland, and Indiana have all had their stretches of excellence historically speaking, though some of those markets have done a better job retaining fan support than others.
But fan enthusiasm which tends to accompany small-market fan bases never guaranteed the on-court success of the Thunder franchise for owner Clay Bennett. Nor did it buy the long-term loyalties of its fans.
The initial honeymoon with OKC fans would have worn off eventually without signs of improvement or sustained success. Just ask Memphis.
That the Thunder organization has prolonged the initial honeymoon into a deeply devoted love affair with its community is a testament to:
(1) The organization’s good eye for talent;
(2) The good fortune that their top picks have actually panned out to be highly productive players who have escaped significant injury;
(3) Scott Brooks and his coaching staff;
(4) The marquee value of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, who above being stars seem to both be genuine guys that want to have an impact on their community;
(5) The organization’s intelligence to extend their star players to not only ensure the team’s core but as a show of faith to their fans that the team is committed to winning basketball.
(6) The spirit and passion of the community’s local basketball fans, which is further bolstered long-term because of the financial commitment of ownership into the team’s young talent core.
In my business, when folks talk about the intangible aspects of the economic impact of a pro sports team upon its community, people talk about “psychic income”, “social fabric”, and “common identification symbol”.
It’s because of these factors that OKC citizens are likely beaming with Thunder Blue pride today.
And because of their baby blue franchise, this is an opportune time for OKC civic leaders to do their utmost to market and promote their city while the lights are shining brightest.
Which makes you realize that in the big picture, the success story that has become the OKC Thunder is really a perfect storm of 3 key ingredients.
(1) Star players playing like studs, (2) Coaching staff making key moves on the court and team executives making shrewd decisions behind the scenes, and (3) Devoted fans that support their pros with a collegiate-like enthusiasm.
Seemed apropos during the Thunder’s post-game press conference that they acknowledged the greatness of the Spurs organization they had just beat, because in many ways the stories underlying the history of both franchises are eerily similar.
Both cities would be classified as mid-sized markets. According to the Census Bureau’s 2010 MSA estimates, San Antonio is 24th with 2.1 million people and OKC is 42nd with 1.3 million.
Both teams are the only pro sports team in their respective communities, and both have a nearby major university with a huge college athletics presence (Univ of Oklahoma in Norman and Univ of Texas in Austin).
Both teams were fortunate enough to have high draft picks AND wise enough to make the right selections. Consider in the 1997 NBA Draft how history would be different for the Spurs if they had selected Keith Van Horn (the number 2 overall that year) rather than Tim Duncan. Conversely, where would the Thunder be if the Portland Trailblazers selected Kevin Durant first in the 2007 NBA Draft rather than Greg Odom. Thankfully, the Blazers left KD be…allowing him to fall to the Thunder at #2.
Just as the Spurs carefully constructed their championship core years ago through both the draft and trades with pieces like Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and at times wily veterans like Steve Kerr and Robert Horry, the Thunder drafted Durant in 2007, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka in 2008, and James Hardin in 2009. Sprinkle a little Kendrick Perkins and throw in a wily sharp shooting veteran like Derek Fisher, and your basketball operations staff look like geniuses.
And both teams have fine coaches. Greg Popovich has arguably been the league’s second-best coach over the last 15 years (trailing only Phil Jackson), given his team’s consistency and excellence. Scott Brooks has a ways to go to reach those heights, but he certainly is on a nice trajectory.
===
As I watched the celebration in OKC last night, I really felt good for the community and for the NBA…partly because I have some connection to the city dating back about 8 years. I’ve conducted market research at the NCAA Division I Women’s College World Series in 2004 and 2005, and when I drive west from St Louis to Los Angeles during the summers OKC is always my first stop so I can spend some time in Bricktown…a cool agglomeration of restaurants, shops, and festivities which is a great place for convention visitors and tourists to get a feel for OKC’s urban side.
But like San Antonio, OKC is a smaller market…and without competition from any other professional sports teams, the city has embraced the team as if members of their own family. In part because of the lack of competition for pro sports loyalties and discretionary spending, and in part because the folks in these parts are use to showing their youthfully exuberant support for the region’s collegiate powerhouse (Univ of Oklahoma), these factors combine to create the fervor and passion that is now becoming nationally exposed the further the Thunder move into the playoffs.
Consistent with a Forbes piece authored last week which touched partly on this topic, the economic structure of the NBA (especially in light of the new owner-friendly CBA) makes it easier for small-market teams to have a chance for success…unlike what we see in Major League Baseball. Cities like Utah, Sacramento, Portland, and Indiana have all had their stretches of excellence historically speaking, though some of those markets have done a better job retaining fan support than others.
But fan enthusiasm which tends to accompany small-market fan bases never guaranteed the on-court success of the Thunder franchise for owner Clay Bennett. Nor did it buy the long-term loyalties of its fans.
The initial honeymoon with OKC fans would have worn off eventually without signs of improvement or sustained success. Just ask Memphis.
That the Thunder organization has prolonged the initial honeymoon into a deeply devoted love affair with its community is a testament to:
(1) The organization’s good eye for talent;
(2) The good fortune that their top picks have actually panned out to be highly productive players who have escaped significant injury;
(3) Scott Brooks and his coaching staff;
(4) The marquee value of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, who above being stars seem to both be genuine guys that want to have an impact on their community;
(5) The organization’s intelligence to extend their star players to not only ensure the team’s core but as a show of faith to their fans that the team is committed to winning basketball.
(6) The spirit and passion of the community’s local basketball fans, which is further bolstered long-term because of the financial commitment of ownership into the team’s young talent core.
In my business, when folks talk about the intangible aspects of the economic impact of a pro sports team upon its community, people talk about “psychic income”, “social fabric”, and “common identification symbol”.
It’s because of these factors that OKC citizens are likely beaming with Thunder Blue pride today.
And because of their baby blue franchise, this is an opportune time for OKC civic leaders to do their utmost to market and promote their city while the lights are shining brightest.
Comments
Post a Comment