The Oklahoma City Thunder are currently attempting to win their second consecutive NBA championship and are poised to be a league powerhouse and potential dynasty for years to come.
OKC invites many comparisons to other great NBA teams and even dominant clubs in other sports. But few people were expecting to see the NBA franchise compared to the state of Israel.
That curious comparison came courtesy of Eitan Reshef, a guest columnist writing in The Oklahoman on Monday, in a piece titled, “Like Thunder, Israel is an underdog that has become hated.”
Always find the local angle, we suppose.
The column has been removed from the newspaper’s website, but, as of this writing, it is still live through syndication partners.
“It’s NBA Playoffs season, and once again as fans are glued to their televisions. There is something strangely familiar abrew between the online keyboard warriors and the voices of punditry as they respond to the continued dominance of the Oklahoma City Thunder. A young, disciplined, strategically crafted organization, impeccably drafted and relentlessly adherent to a culture of selflessness and community, suddenly finds itself resented. The greater the Thunder’s success becomes, the more critics seem determined to diminish it or even root for its demise,” wrote Reshef. “As both a fiercely proud Oklahoman and a Jew, the parallels between the Thunder and the nation of Israel are difficult to ignore. Neither was supposed to become what it is.”
The article was accompanied by an image of a blue-and-white basketball bearing a Star of David, resembling the Israeli flag.
The op-ed went viral on social media and not, perhaps, in the way the author intended (or maybe exactly how the author intended, who knows). It was pulled down from The Oklahoman’s website shortly thereafter.
BROKE: It’s anti-Semitic not to root for the OKC Thunder
WOKE: The OKC Thunder must be returned to their ancestral Zionist homeland, in Seattle— Ken Jennings (@kenjennings.bsky.social) May 18, 2026 at 12:43 PM
According to his bio, Reshef, a native Oklahoman, is an entrepreneur, investor, and former advertising agency CEO who now lives in Chicago.
The Oklahoman has not released a statement yet on why it deleted the column.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.