The young Oklahoma City Thunder were the breakout stars of the NBA season, winning 56 games and capturing the 1-seed in the Western Conference while also endearing themselves to basketball fans with personality and joy.
There may be no better example of that youthful exuberance from MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and his teammates than their nightly postgame tradition of barking at the end of their “walkoff” interviews with Bally Sports Oklahoma. They are dogs, after all. Get it?
After the regular season finale on Sunday as the Thunder clinched the top spot in the West, Gilgeous-Alexander was joined by rookie Chet Holmgren, second-year star Jalen Williams and several role players to discuss their win. But instead of the players joining in unison to woof into the camera, the Oklahoma City stars convinced sideline reporter Nick Gallo to try it out.
https://twitter.com/BallySportsOK/status/1779625975438864881
With few contributors over 25 and in their first winning season in five years, Oklahoma City embraced its youth and low expectations. The team overachieved wildly from preseason expectations around the NBA, skyrocketing from an exit in last year’s play-in tournament all the way to the top seed in a conference featuring LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Nikola Jokic.
Along the way, the Thunder became lovable fan favorites with moments like this. Unless you love the West Coast Conference and saw Holmgren or Williams play or are an undergarment connoisseur (Gilgeous-Alexander is a spokesperson for Kim Kardashian’s clothing brand), you probably learned about the Thunder through viral moments.
In a testament to how impassioned this Thunder team is and its connection to the local fanbase, they let Gallo get in on all the fun to close out the season.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.