Are the Oklahoma City Thunder Hated?

Do we resent our imminent Gen Z overlords?

Kevin O’Connor asks, “Why does everyone hate OKC?” I’m getting asked the same over on ChatBCC. This is the sort of phenomenon where I can’t quite tell if it’s Extremely Online or happening in Real Life. I’m aware that, in NBA social media world, there’s annoyance towards these Gen Z kids who do post game interviews as a group. As a likely subtle troll, Anthony Edwards and teammates did a group interview upon beating the Thunder this season, which I thought was pretty amusing.

Then again, why should any of us care if the Thunder do group interviews after games? Isn’t it good that they’re taking this on as a team? Why should it bother people? Draymond Green had his take last year:

The one thing I see with the OKC team that is a little alarming is their postgame [interviews]. [There are] seven guys in the interview. Like, there’s a certain seriousness that it takes to win in this league and there’s a certain fear you have to instill in a team in order to win. And I just don’t know if they’re instilling that fear in [other] teams with all the bromance and stuff after the game.

But the Thunder are apparently serious, serious enough to be the title favorites, by far. At this point, when people have an issue with Oklahoma City, it’s more about disliking what might work than doubting that it will. I don’t know if they’ll win the championship, but they’re clearly more than capable. They’re young, and opened up their last Game 7 with shaky shooting, but then that astounding defense compensated for the occasional hiccups. That’s the model, right now. Even if they’re too inexperienced to breathe easy under bright lights, they’re able to suffocate the opponent.

There’s a lot to admire about how this team has been constructed, ground up. GM Sam Presti ate Kevin Durant’s rejection and conducted a brilliant rebuild. It’s a small market underdog story. They don’t appear to employ bad character guys. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander seems nice, even if he was wearing a fur coat while musing about how All-Star Game effort requires pay. Speaking of SGA, I do understand that the foul-drawing tactics annoy people. And speaking of SGA’s attire, I don’t think the Thunder-based AT&T fashion walk commercial was a winner.

If the Thunder are disliked, beyond the online realm, I believe there’s a generational component to it. The well known millennial superstars are being swept away and here come these kids, focusing on fashion, referencing joke memes after a playoff loss. I’m not sure there’s a lack of seriousness to them, as Draymond said last season, but there is a lightness. They don’t come off like a group with the weight of the world pressing down on them. From the outside, we don’t really know what a championship would mean to these players like we might from having watched loquacious Anthony Edwards.

When the Warriors rose up, I was acutely aware that they were an instantly popular baby face. It was only after the title that the favorability started to dip. If you win enough, a lot of fanbases come to resent you. Casuals get anxious for a new story. The Thunder are way too early to have worn out their welcome and not yet accomplished enough to provoke jealousy. So what gives? Why isn’t this organically built small market team more loved?