Chris Paul: OKC heroes consolidated
Imagine a world without the Oklahoma City Thunder. I know, dark and despondent. But in a Thunderless NBA, where would OKC’s pro basketball affections lie on this 15th of December?
Los Angeles, California. And not with the Lakers.
The two most-cherished NBA players ever outside of Thunderville are Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. And now both are Clippers. That’s not to say the Clips get anywhere close to the Thunder in terms of fan devotion. They don’t. When OKC hosts the Clippers — March 21 and April 11 — any cheering for the visitors will be loudly drowned out by Boomtown.
But still, CP3 and Griffin hold a special place in Oklahomans’ hearts. When previous homegrown stars ascended to the NBA — Alvan Adams, Mark Price, Wayman Tisdale, Big Country — we didn’t follow the league all that much. Except for the 1976 playoffs and Phoenix, none of those four played on a big stage such as the NBA Finals.
But then the NBA arrived with the Hornets, and we started seeing great players up close and personal, and we grew attached to players and the game. The city fell in love with Paul, and there was an affinity even when CP3 and the Hornets returned to New Orleans. Soon enough, Kevin Durant and the Thunder pushed Paul off the A-list of OKC favorites.
When Griffin left OU and went to the Clippers, we followed him closely and cheered for him wildly, unless he was playing against Big Blue. Then it was auld acquaintance most definitely forgot. But Griffin remained an Okie favorite.
Now, the non-Thunder passions of Oklahoma City NBA fans is consolidated. The Clippers, the lowly, woebegone, forgettable Clippers, have the non-Thunder guys we love the most.
-------------Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter @BerryTramel. Visit Berry's website here.
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Comments
My favorite NBA team of the early 2000s were the Sacramento Kings of Webber, Bibby, Bobby Jackson… I loved them because of the style they played. They were uptempo and fun to watch. Kind of like the mid-2000 Suns. I feel really lucky that we have the Thunder because no matter where I lived I think this would be my favorite team in the league. I’m just glad they’re here and I’m lucky enought to have season tickets.
Add to that the great Waymon Tisdale and even more reason to cheer for them.