SGA being a foul merchant, but also the Thunder seemingly fouling non stop and mostly getting away with it. And I can attest that my friends and I are cheering an "Anybody but OKC" champion. Minnesota, Indiana, NYC, great! Any of them! Just not the super cringe super annoying Thunder. So this isnt an online thing, I think it's legit.
It's insane to say about a team the the MVP but I honestly think Americans like a team with a dominant alpha and OKC is so talent rich and distributes so much it violates that sense of the One True Dawg leading the team to the promised land. One reason of many that the LeBron Cavsv championship team is more loved than the Heatles championship teams.
They are hated for the same reason you keep posting that Jordan documentary clip: we love to pretend that you have to be a psychotic asshole to win.
There's no real reason to believe this - Tim Duncan won 5 titles while being a quiet, nice guy and beloved teammate. But the Asshole Theory is a much more interesting, seductive narrative - so sportswriters will continue to overrate it.
Shai and the Thunder seem like nice, chill dudes. They won the most games all year and they will probably win the championship. Not because they are assholes, but because they are the best team.
But "The Best Team Usually Wins" Theory is boring. It suggests that the NBA - and life - are not as interesting as we want them to be. So we rebel against it and pretend that it can't be true.
I don't hate them, I just don't enjoy watching them. SGA is very annoying with all the pretend fouls. And then they have a bunch of good players with no entertainment value. So I don't watch them.
Everyone in my circle hates them because the Sonics being stolen from us is still an open festering wound in and around Seattle - I had no idea the hate was so pervasive.
It’s simple, they aren’t beloved for the same reason the KD warriors weren’t beloved: it’s not a good story. The KD warriors were the worst story in sports history (best player from their best rival joins them and inevitable dominance ensues). The OKC story is more complicated, but it’s also a terrible story (shrewd GM stockpiles assets and tanks his way to assembling a well rounded juggernaut). That might not seem like that bad of a story, but it has two problems: 1) the GM is the focus of the story and 2) it’s been predictable for years at this point. Good stories involve surprise and drama. The OKC story is a bore. It’s way more compelling if they lose and the pressure on them builds. So that’s what us neutrals are rooting for.
Fans want their players to look like they care as much as they do. That's the facade of sports. And I think there's something offputting about the casualness of OKC to some people, including me. It's not just enough to be good, but you need to look like the game means everything to you as well.
Don't hate them but definitely an annoyance and it actually is about the group interviews. And mostly relating to my own past as a sportswriter back in the day at a small daily paper covering high school sports. After every game I'd grab a player or two and talk to them. A few times the head coach would hover and linger, making sure nothing too controversial was said for our 8,000 readers.
But when I see the Thunder and their grating act I just imagine seven morons from the local basketball team crashing my interview as I'm trying to get one usable quote from the star who scored 29 points. I picture the guy on the end of the bench standing there barking and laughing. I picture the kid who can't dribble but managed to grab two boards rubbing the star's hair and talking about how great he is. I picture them interfering and I never do get a good quote and I get back to the office to type up my 15-inch story and my boss asks me why I didn't talk to the star player and I go home grouchy, wondering why the hell I'm doing all this for 18,000 dollars a year and why those other kids couldn't just let me interview the guy who actually led them to victory.
So yeah...I have issues, but it is the damn group interviews and my dream is for the Wolves to usher them off in six games and at the end, after they've congratulated Ant and the boys, the whole team is forced to stand at midcourt for one last postgame group interview while SGA is grilled about the defeat.
My 12 year old Gen Apha son hates the Thunder, and I doubt he's ever seen the 7 man post-game interview schtick. His NBA opinions are heavily influenced by NBA YouTube, so maybe that's helping to turn the culture against OKC?
Is there a parallel in the NFL and MLB to teams being 'hated on' to this extent? I hear about it a lot in NBA circles, even as a very casual fan.
I guess the Yankees always generate a lot of heat. The Dodgers, some as well, particularly in recent years when they appear to have more money than God to spend on free agents.
The Chiefs are catching a lot of flak. That'll happen when you go 11-6 and still win the Super Bowl and the tight end dates Taylor Swift.
Do people still hate the Dallas Cowboys, or just laugh and shake their heads now?
But that's about all I can think of in the other sports. In the NBA the Warriors take more flak than Travis Kelce, have for years, and I hear all the time about the 76ers being spoiled and soft. Whatever team Kevin Durant is on also gets it in the neck. The Lakers....we could go on for days with that.
I'll spare myself getting worked up about OKC and wish them well instead. Meanwhile, how long until the Knicks get a tidal wave of hate if they win the championship?
It's a good question. Rather ineffable, isn't it? All the ingredients are there: small market, built though great drafting, didn't require players conspiring to make a super-team, play incredible defense in an era where that's seemingly impossible. And yet, something is just "meh" about them; something leaves one cold, or at least tepid. I have no way to quantitize this, but I wonder how much is SGA winning (we assume) MVP over Jokic when the latter had a much better season (à la Embiid a couple years ago) and their rather uncharismatic commercials. I assume not a lot, but they're something.
i agree with this - i think its more "meh" and less "i hate them". True hate requires something compelling.
Shai doesnt have any aura - there just isn't anything interesting to his personality and its not like his game is that exciting either (not as athletic at Ant, not as much of a shooting showman as Steph)
their second banana, JDubb, has an extremely boring nickname and also has no aura/is somewhat anonymous (how many people on the street can name him?) and is prone to up and down play
Chet looks like Abe Lincoln and doesnt have a personality
all the other guys are defensive focused, workmanlike players as opposed to defensive heels like draymond, ron artest, and tony Allen, which isnt always a recipe for popularity
there isnt a vet on the team like a Horford, Conley type where youre rooting for them to get over the hump
no one the team rises to the level of love or hate, theyre just kinda there
I personally think it's hard not to like this team. But, I'm a Knicks fan. I have enough teams I don't like from Indiana, to Boston to Detroit. OKC, I have no problems with. I don't want to speculate on the next round until these conference finals series are wrapped up, but OKC is okay with me. And I actually liked the AT&T commercial too.
SGA being a foul merchant, but also the Thunder seemingly fouling non stop and mostly getting away with it. And I can attest that my friends and I are cheering an "Anybody but OKC" champion. Minnesota, Indiana, NYC, great! Any of them! Just not the super cringe super annoying Thunder. So this isnt an online thing, I think it's legit.
Nothing against your friends but Brunson is as bad if not worse than SGA.
It's insane to say about a team the the MVP but I honestly think Americans like a team with a dominant alpha and OKC is so talent rich and distributes so much it violates that sense of the One True Dawg leading the team to the promised land. One reason of many that the LeBron Cavsv championship team is more loved than the Heatles championship teams.
Like, yes, SGA is a ball dominant guard who leads the team in scoring. But he doesn't have that top dog aura. Or this might all be in my head.
They're the team version of Jayson Tatum
They are hated for the same reason you keep posting that Jordan documentary clip: we love to pretend that you have to be a psychotic asshole to win.
There's no real reason to believe this - Tim Duncan won 5 titles while being a quiet, nice guy and beloved teammate. But the Asshole Theory is a much more interesting, seductive narrative - so sportswriters will continue to overrate it.
Shai and the Thunder seem like nice, chill dudes. They won the most games all year and they will probably win the championship. Not because they are assholes, but because they are the best team.
But "The Best Team Usually Wins" Theory is boring. It suggests that the NBA - and life - are not as interesting as we want them to be. So we rebel against it and pretend that it can't be true.
I don't hate them, I just don't enjoy watching them. SGA is very annoying with all the pretend fouls. And then they have a bunch of good players with no entertainment value. So I don't watch them.
Everyone in my circle hates them because the Sonics being stolen from us is still an open festering wound in and around Seattle - I had no idea the hate was so pervasive.
The only reason I hate OKC is because of SGA's grifting. No other reason at all.
It’s simple, they aren’t beloved for the same reason the KD warriors weren’t beloved: it’s not a good story. The KD warriors were the worst story in sports history (best player from their best rival joins them and inevitable dominance ensues). The OKC story is more complicated, but it’s also a terrible story (shrewd GM stockpiles assets and tanks his way to assembling a well rounded juggernaut). That might not seem like that bad of a story, but it has two problems: 1) the GM is the focus of the story and 2) it’s been predictable for years at this point. Good stories involve surprise and drama. The OKC story is a bore. It’s way more compelling if they lose and the pressure on them builds. So that’s what us neutrals are rooting for.
Fans want their players to look like they care as much as they do. That's the facade of sports. And I think there's something offputting about the casualness of OKC to some people, including me. It's not just enough to be good, but you need to look like the game means everything to you as well.
Don't hate them but definitely an annoyance and it actually is about the group interviews. And mostly relating to my own past as a sportswriter back in the day at a small daily paper covering high school sports. After every game I'd grab a player or two and talk to them. A few times the head coach would hover and linger, making sure nothing too controversial was said for our 8,000 readers.
But when I see the Thunder and their grating act I just imagine seven morons from the local basketball team crashing my interview as I'm trying to get one usable quote from the star who scored 29 points. I picture the guy on the end of the bench standing there barking and laughing. I picture the kid who can't dribble but managed to grab two boards rubbing the star's hair and talking about how great he is. I picture them interfering and I never do get a good quote and I get back to the office to type up my 15-inch story and my boss asks me why I didn't talk to the star player and I go home grouchy, wondering why the hell I'm doing all this for 18,000 dollars a year and why those other kids couldn't just let me interview the guy who actually led them to victory.
So yeah...I have issues, but it is the damn group interviews and my dream is for the Wolves to usher them off in six games and at the end, after they've congratulated Ant and the boys, the whole team is forced to stand at midcourt for one last postgame group interview while SGA is grilled about the defeat.
Zero resentment from me. I like those guys. Sounds like an Extremely Online thing.
My 12 year old Gen Apha son hates the Thunder, and I doubt he's ever seen the 7 man post-game interview schtick. His NBA opinions are heavily influenced by NBA YouTube, so maybe that's helping to turn the culture against OKC?
Is there a parallel in the NFL and MLB to teams being 'hated on' to this extent? I hear about it a lot in NBA circles, even as a very casual fan.
I guess the Yankees always generate a lot of heat. The Dodgers, some as well, particularly in recent years when they appear to have more money than God to spend on free agents.
The Chiefs are catching a lot of flak. That'll happen when you go 11-6 and still win the Super Bowl and the tight end dates Taylor Swift.
Do people still hate the Dallas Cowboys, or just laugh and shake their heads now?
But that's about all I can think of in the other sports. In the NBA the Warriors take more flak than Travis Kelce, have for years, and I hear all the time about the 76ers being spoiled and soft. Whatever team Kevin Durant is on also gets it in the neck. The Lakers....we could go on for days with that.
I'll spare myself getting worked up about OKC and wish them well instead. Meanwhile, how long until the Knicks get a tidal wave of hate if they win the championship?
I like that they’re sponsored by a truck stop. That’s endearing. But after that I struggle to embrace the Thunder.
Which team goes in next for that sweet Buck-ee's money?
It's a good question. Rather ineffable, isn't it? All the ingredients are there: small market, built though great drafting, didn't require players conspiring to make a super-team, play incredible defense in an era where that's seemingly impossible. And yet, something is just "meh" about them; something leaves one cold, or at least tepid. I have no way to quantitize this, but I wonder how much is SGA winning (we assume) MVP over Jokic when the latter had a much better season (à la Embiid a couple years ago) and their rather uncharismatic commercials. I assume not a lot, but they're something.
Meant to include that I assume the biggest factor is SGA's insufferable foul-bating.
i agree with this - i think its more "meh" and less "i hate them". True hate requires something compelling.
Shai doesnt have any aura - there just isn't anything interesting to his personality and its not like his game is that exciting either (not as athletic at Ant, not as much of a shooting showman as Steph)
their second banana, JDubb, has an extremely boring nickname and also has no aura/is somewhat anonymous (how many people on the street can name him?) and is prone to up and down play
Chet looks like Abe Lincoln and doesnt have a personality
all the other guys are defensive focused, workmanlike players as opposed to defensive heels like draymond, ron artest, and tony Allen, which isnt always a recipe for popularity
there isnt a vet on the team like a Horford, Conley type where youre rooting for them to get over the hump
no one the team rises to the level of love or hate, theyre just kinda there
I personally think it's hard not to like this team. But, I'm a Knicks fan. I have enough teams I don't like from Indiana, to Boston to Detroit. OKC, I have no problems with. I don't want to speculate on the next round until these conference finals series are wrapped up, but OKC is okay with me. And I actually liked the AT&T commercial too.