2019-20 OKC Thunder

[dcsooner]

The rebuild or reset of the Thunder is uncharted in two ways; it does make some fans feel uneasy.

The first 5 years was getting the franchise established and ingrained into our community. Once we got established; fans wanted a winner and eventual success with Durant as the face of the franchise, supported by Westbrook & Harden.

IMO, Durant didn't know how to lead. He didn't want to accept responsibility that goes with being a leader; he was ready and willing to receive thumbs up in success, couldn't handle the personal attacks on himself when expectations weren't achieved.

OKC has well established that we can support one major pro sport. We're beyond the 10 year maker as a franchise. Holding our own among the small market franchises under 2 million MSA--Memphis, Milwaukee, New Orleans & Salt Lake City.

As Quicker noted we're only 3 home games into the season. The sky is not falling.

+1

[OKC_Chipper]

I came to that conclusion after reading comments from others above. I hope you’re right that this is only reflecting early season apathy.

You made a conclusion about a city being able to sustain an nba franchise based off of a couple comments on a message board? That seems well informed.
I’ve been to two games and going to my third today, the attendance doesn’t seem that much different to me than early in the year last year. The crowd isn’t very rowdy but I think that’s to be expected with the team we have right now.

[king183]

Haha...and you’ve come to this epiphany after only three home games into the season? That’s the most ridiculous sh!t I’ve ever heard... Seattle fans weren’t right about anything. They were convinced the NBA couldn’t live without them...it’s now been well over a decade with no prospects of getting a team on the horizon... The Sonics were a train wreck who had been losing money for years... The Thunder is extremely well managed and will never lose money in OKC...

Exactly. This doomsday talk is both absurd and hilarious. I've been to all the home games, A few people who don't know better are making it seem like it's a wasteland in there. It's consistently been 75% full, which, while compared to our past of nearly every seat being filled may look disappointing, is still amazing when compared to the rest of the NBA. The energy is certainly different. The crowd isn't nearly as loud, but I imagine that will get better as fans get used to this team--especially SGA since it certainly looks like we have another All Star in him.

The naysayers are predictable. They are typically those who are predisposed to pessimism or OKC-bashing, so the first sign of anything resembling bad news for OKC, they feed on it like piranhas, regardless of the reality on the ground.

[OKC Guy]

Exactly. This doomsday talk is both absurd and hilarious. I've been to all the home games, A few people who don't know better are making it seem like it's a wasteland in there. It's consistently been 75% full, which, while compared to our past of nearly every seat being filled may look disappointing, is still amazing when compared to the rest of the NBA. The energy is certainly different. The crowd isn't nearly as loud, but I imagine that will get better as fans get used to this team--especially SGA since it certainly looks like we have another All Star in him.

The naysayers are predictable. They are typically those who are predisposed to pessimism or OKC-bashing, so the first sign of anything resembling bad news for OKC, they feed on it like piranhas, regardless of the reality on the ground.

Yup. Here’s a pic mid game at Golden State and look at all the empty seats. They spent like 1.5 Billion and its brand new.

Very few teams sell out games consistently and those who do are top teams in current year. OKC has 1 Pro team and its still great entertainment at reasonable prices.

Wish I could figure out how to post pics but here’s the pic link:

https://mobile.twitter.com/ThunderND...971393/photo/1

Also, really like our core youngsters SGA, Bazeley and Diallo. Hope we keep Adams thru the rebuild and after. But those 3 are a start.

As for all the draft picks we have my guess is half are used up in future trades once we start getting better in a year or three. We will have to go thru tough times to get batter. Just hope we can trade CP he will hold ip the rebuild if we can’t unload him due to salary.

[OKC_Chipper]

I took this tonight, definitely looks like a city that doesn’t support a team anymore. Let’s just give up and send them back to Seattle.

[Laramie]

Pelicans 104 @ Thunder 115

Box score: https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401160719

Attendance: 18,203

[kswright29]

Take a look at a Rockets game. That place never looks even half full. Russ has to be thinking where the hell is everyone!

[chuck5815]

Take a look at a Rockets game. That place never looks even half full. Russ has to be thinking where the hell is everyone!

to be fair, Houston is a global city AND it has Landry’s, the Chart House, and so many Bubba Gump Shrimp Company’s.

So If I lived in Houston, I wouldn’t be hanging out at a sport ball game either.

Would probably be knee deep in coconut shrimp, almost all the time

[SEMIweather]

Can pretty much guarantee the Thunder will not be going anywhere as long as OKC keeps the Peake up to par compared to other NBA arenas.

[Laramie]

Keeping The Peake up-to-date is key. A look at the investment of Oklahoma City's largest indoor venue:

2002: $89.2 million downtown arena (Initial budget DT arena).

2009 & 2010 upgrades:

The $89 million Ford Center opened in 2002 and was paid for with money from a penny sales tax voters approved as part of the MAPS initiative in the early 1990s. MAPS for Kids, which benefits the city's public school districts, was a continuation of that tax.

$90 million (Brought up to NBA standards paid for by MAPS for Hoops NBA extension.

2017: OKC September election--General Obligation Bonds - Proposition 11: $8,865,000 for downtown city arena passed.

Chesapeake Energy Arena upgrades to date: $188 million. Recall that the original MAPS $350 package that funded DT arena only spent $16 million for land acquisition.

History of the MAPS projects TIMELINE timeline: https://oklahoman.com/article/319747...ing-an-upgrade

MAPS 4 proposed arena upgrades worth $115 million will add $303 million to the arena value investment total.

[Quicker]

to be fair, Houston is a global city AND it has Landry’s, the Chart House, and so many Bubba Gump Shrimp Company’s.

So If I lived in Houston, I wouldn’t be hanging out at a sport ball game either.

Would probably be knee deep in coconut shrimp, almost all the time

I’m not quite sure why you’re even commenting in this thread... Anyone that would rather go to Bubba Gump shrimp than a Rockets-Thunder game doesn’t really have anything pertinent to add anyway...

You do have a unique viewpoint though... just think about how crazy it is that arenas just built in Brooklyn and San Francisco each cost around $1.5 billion dollars to build

Can you in your wildest dreams imagine the Bubba Gump shrimp Company restaurant that could be built for that kind of money?

[chuck5815]

I’m not quite sure why you’re even commenting in this thread... Anyone that would rather go to Bubba Gump shrimp than a Rockets-Thunder game doesn’t really have anything pertinent to add anyway...

You do have a unique viewpoint though... just think about how crazy it is that arenas just built in Brooklyn and San Francisco each cost around $1.5 billion dollars to build

Can you in your wildest dreams imagine the Bubba Gump shrimp Company restaurant that could be built for that kind of money?

Just pointing out that OKC ain’t got much to do of an evening relative to actual BLCs. Look at the USC Trojan football games even in the years where the school has bought enough players to field a top five team. Empty.

And I’m still very surprised that Tilman hasn’t made a push into OKC. Can you imagine a $1.5B aquarium situated on the river with a Bubba Gump Shrimp Company as the anchor tenant? That’s a MAPS project that passes with flying colors. The one we’re voting for in a month? Eh, I don’t know. Too many underfunded LLC projects.

[Laramie]

.

Magic @ Thunder

Chesapeake Energy Arena
Tuesday, November 5, 7 p.m.
TV/Radio: FSOK/98.1 FM

ORL - Melvin Frazier Jr. (SG) Day-To-Day - Michael Carter-Williams (PG) Day-To-Day

Injury Report

OKC - Steven Adams (C) Day-To-Day - Andre Roberson (SG) Out

[dankrutka]

empty seats starting to pile up as each game goes by. Feels like a completely different atmosphere and going to be a long season for management. At least they either got, or are pretty close, to getting under the tax.

For context, this also pretty normal in the NBA. If you've been to other NBA arenas, OKC's crowds this season are probably still above average IMHO. We've had top 5 crowds the last 10 years. 2,000 empty seats is pretty typical. I went to a Pelicans game with 10,000 empty seats. There are only a few franchises that pack their arenas when they're not expected to make the playoffs.

Edit: I posted this without knowing that several other people made this point. In short, the posts about OKC's support for the Thunder are way off base. The support has been good.

[dankrutka]

to be fair, Houston is a global city AND it has Landry’s, the Chart House, and so many Bubba Gump Shrimp Company’s.

So If I lived in Houston, I wouldn’t be hanging out at a sport ball game either.

Would probably be knee deep in coconut shrimp, almost all the time

I was sure this was satire. This should go in the OKCTalk Hall of Fame.

Side note: There is a point to be made that there are more options in other NBA cities, but honestly, I wouldn't put Houston anywhere near the top of that list. It absolutely pales in comparison to New York, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Toronto, Philly, Boston, Atlanta, D.C., and so many cities with better overall offerings.

[OkiePoke]

When half your players are new and the fans don't know who they are, it brings down the energy level for sure. The team needs an identity and the fans will have to recognize it. Plus, it's still college football season. The excitement level gets higher as the season progresses.

I'm not worried about attendance. Ya, probably will be a drop off after losing the biggest player in team history. Plus, tickets to the game are not cheap. I remember seeing that the Thunder had some of the highest ticket prices in the NBA.

[OKCRT]

For context, this also pretty normal in the NBA. If you've been to other NBA arenas, OKC's crowds this season are probably still above average IMHO. We've had top 5 crowds the last 10 years. 2,000 empty seats is pretty typical. I went to a Pelicans game with 10,000 empty seats. There are only a few franchises that pack their arenas when they're not expected to make the playoffs.

Edit: I posted this without knowing that several other people made this point. In short, the posts about OKC's support for the Thunder are way off base. The support has been good.

Some of the guys on the Sports Animal last week were talking like there were lots of empty seats and fans sitting on their hands and not really into the games this season. I haven't been to any games this season yet but from the looks on TV it's not bad but hard to tell about upper levels.

[Rover]

I do know that the lower prices and after market availability has let a new set of fans who haven't been able to afford the games before now go to them. They are excited and will be a good base of live fandom for the future.

Let's face it, there have been quite a few attendees who aren't really sports fans, but went because it was the cool thing to do and say that you have NBA season tickets. It may be nice to have actual basketball fans have a chance to go and bond on a more intimate level with the team.

[dankrutka]

I remember seeing that the Thunder had some of the highest ticket prices in the NBA.

I don’t think there’s any way this could be true. Probably some of the cheapest in the league.

[BoulderSooner]

I don’t think there’s any way this could be true. Probably some of the cheapest in the league.

the thunder had the 5th highest average ticket price in the NBA last season


in the resale market the thunder was the 4th highest last year

[Laramie]

the thunder had the 5th highest average ticket price in the NBA last season

in the resale market the thunder was the 4th highest last year

Thanks for the update, BoulderSooner

Recall reading that information recently (can't recall the source) and thought to myself how fortunate of OKC to have an NBA franchise in our market with such strong support.

[Laramie]

Thunder fans, we're probably in for some bumps in the road this season, the vibes I'm getting from many fans are positive.

While at OU Medical Center complex this past Friday, a women on the elevator complimented me on my Thunder jacket. She shared her optimism for the team saying 'I just know they're going to get better, I can feel it...'

I feel those same sentiments about the Thunder, the guys have hit the hardwood running like a gazelle with the enthusiasm we all saw in 2010 when the franchise started to mesh with the city.

It has been years, but it seems like only yesterday we enjoyed the likes of Westbrook, Durant, Harden, Ibaka, Watson, Krstic, Sefolosha, Weaver, Collison and many others. Now we're seeing it all revolve again with some promise in Adams, Paul, Gilgeous-Alexander, Schroeder, Gallinari, Diallo, Bazley, Noel, Ferguson...

Stay loud & proud my fellow fans, ramp up your O-K-C enthusiasm.

[BoulderSooner]

thunder resale market is down over 70% this season

[sooner88]

I've only been to one regular season so far this year, but I'd echo the sentiment above. The Portland game had a fairly good crowd for a freezing night and Game 7 of the World Series. You're going to lose some of the fair weather fans, but the interesting thing will be the percentage of people that renew for next year as we all had to renew prior to Russ and PG leaving. I do know that the you can find a very inexpensive ticket on the resale market in the Lower Bowl and giving away season tickets for free has been pretty difficult.

[BoulderSooner]

I've only been to one regular season so far this year, but I'd echo the sentiment above. The Portland game had a fairly good crowd for a freezing night and Game 7 of the World Series. You're going to lose some of the fair weather fans, but the interesting thing will be the percentage of people that renew for next year as we all had to renew prior to Russ and PG leaving. I do know that the you can find a very inexpensive ticket on the resale market in the Lower Bowl and giving away season tickets for free has been pretty difficult.

yep next years renewal season will be the real test