2010–11 Oklahoma City Thunder season

The franchise built on its prior success from the previous year, winning 55 regular-season games and reaching the Western Conference finals – in the process becoming the second-youngest team ever to do so.

[1] The Thunder's 18th overall pick was originally acquired from the Miami Heat as a result of the Daequan Cook trade prior to the draft.

[9] The Thunder ended 2010 NBA draft night and the conclusion of player acquisitions and transactions, with Kansas center Cole Aldrich, Brose Basket center Tibor Pleiss, Tulsa 66ers of the NBA D-League forward Latavious Williams, and Florida State forward Ryan Reid.

[11] From July 19–24, 2010, Durant, Westbrook and Jeff Green each attended tryout camp in Las Vegas for inclusion on the 12-man USA National Team roster at the 2010 FIBA World Championship, to take place from August 28 to September 12, 2010, in Turkey.

[12][13] In late July, Durant, Westbrook and Green were each named to the narrowed 15-man USA Team roster, which participated in additional workouts August 9–16 in New York City.

[17] Thunder players participating on other FIBA teams included Nenad Krstić[18] (who was suspended for Serbia's first three games following a chair-throwing incident in a tune-up match against Greece at the Acropolis Tournament on August 19),[19] and Tibor Pleiß for Germany.

[25] No Thunder starters were assigned to Orlando; Harden, Serge Ibaka and Eric Maynor were the most experienced players on the summer roster.

The Thunder also signed forward Marcus Lewis and guard Cliff Hammonds as free agents on the summer roster.

[31] Later, on July 22, 2010, the team announced signing its general manager Sam Presti to a multi-year deal, terms of which were not disclosed.

[48] The Thunder began their regular season at home against the Chicago Bulls with an Opening Night promotion that included outdoor entertainment, a new magazine publication, and a blue-attire theme.

[52] By the midway point in the season, the Thunder's cumulative team free-throw percentage stood at .83116, just slightly off the pace of the all-time NBA single-season record of .83186, set by the 1989–90 Boston Celtics.

[55] As of the All-Star break, the Thunder were rated #6 in the NBA's power ranking system, with a comparatively easy schedule over the remaining course of the season.

In various combinations, the Thunder generally used a nine-man rotation through January 2011, providing reserves Ibaka, Maynor, Harden and Nick Collison with significant playing time.

Starting with the January 28, 2011, game against Washington, shooting guard Daequan Cook began receiving significant minutes in the rotation, allowing the Thunder to substitute an entirely new second string on multiple occasions.

[61] The new lineup's first major test came in the March 16, 2011, game at Miami, which the Thunder won due to a shutdown defensive performance in the second half.

[64] The Thunder were still in contention for a #2 overall playoff seed by the time of their last regular season game on April 13 against Milwaukee, the pre-game ceremonies for which featured the unveiling of a Northwest Division championship banner.

[65] However, the Thunder's overtime loss in that game, in which the starting rotation played limited minutes, guaranteed the overall #4 seed in the Western Conference and a first-round playoff matchup with the #5-seed Denver Nuggets.

[69] In the May/June 2011 issue of Dime Magazine, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were featured on the cover and named "The NBA's best duo since Shaq and Kobe.

[71] Game 1 of the series featured promotions similar to the "Opening Night" of the regular season, including a "blue-out" T-shirt giveaway and a "Thunder Alley" entertainment venue outside the arena.

[72] The Thunder's eventual 107–103 victory was aided by a basket occurring with just over one minute left in the game by Kendrick Perkins, which the NBA later admitted should have resulted in an offensive goaltending call.

[74] Denver avoided elimination in a Game 4 contest in which the Thunder's Russell Westbrook was criticized for selfish play in a 12-for-30 shooting performance.

[75] The Thunder finished the series in Game 5 by winning a dramatic comeback at home, which featured Kevin Durant scoring 16 of his 41 points in the fourth quarter.

Game 1 of the conference finals saw the Thunder accumulate as much as a nine-point lead in the third quarter, but ultimately collapse under the pressure of a 48-point performance by Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki and timely three-point shooting by reserve guard J.J.

Oklahoma City evened the series in Game 2, where the Thunder bench scored 50 points and played much of the decisive fourth quarter.

[86] Game 4 unfolded positively for the Thunder through most of the contest, with the team enjoying a 15-point advantage with 4:49 remaining in the fourth quarter, having built on a large statistical lead in rebounds, assists, blocks, and points in the paint.

[87] However, the Thunder suffered from 25 turnovers in the contest, and their offense evaporated in the final five minutes, shooting 1-10 from the field, as Dallas went on a 17–2 run to tie the game in regulation, 101-101.

An estimated 500 fans greeted the team's private charter flight as it arrived in Oklahoma City at 1:00 a.m. the night of the Thunder's final loss.