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Oklahoma City Thunder -
Graham Dudley
Happy Monday, Thunder fans! Welcome back to The Graham Jam newsletter.
Unfortunately, your Oklahoma City Thunder haven't won any games since last week's edition of the newsletter. But on the upside, they're still in fourth place in the league's reverse standings, giving them a 12.5% chance at the No. 1 overall pick. More and more prognosticators are looking at Gonzaga's Chet Homgren as the likeliest top pick, especially after the Zags won the top seed in Sunday's March Madness selection show, but that's something OKC can only worry about after the draft lottery.
Oklahoma City is now 20-47 overall after a spunky but futile 125-118 effort Sunday against Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies. Sunday's game featured another stellar outing from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, plus unexpectedly good performances from Darius Bazley and even Lindy Waters III, the Thunder's homegrown two-way player they signed last month.
But the most memorable part of the game was the very beginning, when the teams realized they were both wearing white jerseys and the Grizzlies had to go back and change before the game could begin.
It was a humorous mix-up, but it also inspired memories, for me, of the far more consequential delay that occurred on March 11, 2020. That game was also in Oklahoma City. In this Graham Jam, I'll recount my personal memories of that day and play another round of Tank Time as OKC approaches the end of the season.
Last week
Milwaukee 142, Thunder 115 (3/8 HOME)
Minnesota 132, Thunder 102 (3/9 AWAY)
Memphis 125, Thunder 118 (3/13 HOME)
3/11
March 11 was the two-year anniversary of the game that paused the 2020 NBA season, and then the rest of the country, and it happened right here in Oklahoma City. I thought I'd take the opportunity to share my personal memories from that day — especially since they came from the other side of the aisle, in Utah.
On March 11, 2020, I was a reporter for KSL.com, the biggest news website in Utah headquartered in Salt Lake City. The Utah Jazz played home games at Vivint Arena, which was across the street from my office.
Because the Jazz are broadcast locally on some obscure cable channel, I couldn't watch them at my house. But at the office, there was a break-room TV on the fourth floor that had the games. My shift started and ended a little later than usual — about 10 to 7 — so I generally was finishing up about when the Jazz were going to tip off.
So on that night, I migrated into the break room and flicked on the TV to watch the game. But then tipoff time came and went with no start. And no one seemed to know why, least of all the announcers.
So after a few minutes of waiting and confusion I messaged my teammates on Slack, a corporate communication app, to let them know: "I think something's up at the Jazz game? Might want to keep an eye on it".
Of course, at the time we all knew that COVID-19 was spreading worldwide, and had even been detected in America. But most were still hoping, I think, that the virus could be isolated and eliminated without general spread. I suspected at the time that the delay was virus-related, but hoped that wasn't the case.
After a long wait and much confusion among players, fans and officials, the Jazz-Thunder game was canceled and the fans asked to leave. The NBA quickly suspended its remaining schedule, with the rest of the sports world following close behind.
The culprit? Utah Jazz All-Star center Rudy Gobert had tested positive for COVID-19, with his result coming just moments before tipoff.
Gobert's diagnosis started a wacky journey home for the Jazz and a wild ride for the country at large. Gobert's co-star Donovan Mitchell ended up testing positive, too, in a development that strained the pair's relationship and still resonates to this day. Mitchell has made clear that he and Gobert can work together on the court, now, but aren't exactly close friends.
As for OKC, the stoppage derailed a surging team led by Chris Paul that was immediately disbanded that offseason when Paul was traded to Phoenix in exchange for Ty Jerome, a 2022 first-round pick, and other pieces that aren't around in OKC any more.
Two years on, it seems (for now) like we have passed the worst of COVID-19. I got it myself in December 2020; millions more Americans have had the same experience, with deadly results for hundreds of thousands.
Today I'm thankful for life, health, and a return to semi-normalcy. And I'm glad you're all here, safe and reading this with me.
But I think March 11 is an anniversary we'll be looking back on for not just years, but decades to come. And it all went down right here in OKC.
Tank Time
The Oklahoma City Thunder appear locked in to the No. 4 spot in the "reverse standings" this year, boasting the fourth-worst record in the NBA behind Houston, Orlando and Detroit. The Rockets, who were at No. 3 for most of the season, have rattled off a 2-8 record in the past 10 games to pass the Magic and Pistons, who are 5-5 over that time. Only the Thunder and Kings can "match" Houston for such futility in the recent past.
OKC has been hanging on to fourth for months now. That gives them a 12.5% chance to pick No. 1 overall and a 48.1% chance to pick inside the top four.
Homgren, Jabari Smith, Paolo Banchero and Jaden Ivey would all be exciting prizes for any team, so picking in the top four would be a big win. Let's go to Tankathon.com and play a simulation to see where the Thunder could end up:
1. Detroit (+2 from current record)
2. Oklahoma City (+2)
3. Orlando (-1)
4. Indiana (+1)
5. Houston (-4)
6. Sacramento
7. San Antonio
8. Portland
9. New York
10. Portland (via New Orleans)
11. Washington
12. Memphis (via LA Lakers)
13. Charlotte
14. Atlanta
Picking No. 1 would be nice. But boy, picking No. 2 in this draft is nothing to complain about. Adding Smith, Banchero — maybe even Chet? — to this team could do wonders for the Thunder, potentially.
That's all for me this week, folks. We'll end by looking ahead to the next week in Thunder basketball. Enjoy the games, and Thunder Up!
This week
1/14: Thunder vs. Charlotte, 7 p.m., Bally Sports Oklahoma
1/16: Thunder @ San Antonio, 7:30 p.m., BSOK
1/18: Thunder @ Miami, 7 p.m., BSOK
1/20: Thunder @ Orlando, 5 p.m., BSOK