Potential sucks. It's a weight, a burden, an unfair expectation that doesn't take into account everything that comes between point A and point B, a nagging voice telling you that anything less than that benchmark is a disappointment.
For most, it's a distraction and a constant headache.
Yet when you look at the Oklahoma City Thunder, a team lauded for its potential, shouldering great expectations, you see a collection of players unfazed and unflinching even as the prospect of promise draws ever closer. The kids might call them nonchalant, but what they are is self-aware.
The Thunder know who they are, and they know what this team was built for. They came into the season as title favourites and surpassed every expectation by trouncing the Western Conference with a 68-14 record.
In the playoffs, they matured in real-time in a dogged seven-game series against the Denver Nuggets, then put those newfound skills to the test in a rout of the Minnesota Timberwolves to book a spot in the big dance.
One more challenge stands between them and the chance to say they lived up to every lofty expectation heaped on them at the start of the year. Four more wins and the memory of falling short in the Kevin Durant-Russell Westbrook days evaporates. Will Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Co. complete one of the greatest turnarounds of fate in recent memory, or will promises be left unfulfilled another year?
Here's everything you need to know about the Thunder ahead of what should be an era-defining NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers.
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A new champion will be crowned as the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers face off in the NBA Finals. Which team will hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy for the first time? Watch on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.
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WHY THE THUNDER CAN WIN
Because they have the best player in the series, by far. All due respect to Tyrese Haliburton, but Gilgeous-Alexander was named the MVP for a reason.
The Hamilton, Ont. native has been on a tear in the playoffs, and what's separated him from the rest of the field is just how consistently he's able to be at his best. In 16 post-season games, Gilgeous-Alexander has scored under 25 points only three times and under 30 points only five times.
Though his efficiency hasn't been at the historic-for-a-guard levels we saw in the regular season, he's still knocking down 47.1 per cent of his looks, almost all of which came on difficult shots he created for himself.
No matter the assignment, whether it be his cousin Nickeil Alexander-Walker or defensive stopper Jaden McDaniels, Gilgeous-Alexander has surgically broken them down, asserting himself as one of the most singularly unstoppable forces in basketball today.
Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith did a solid job limiting Jalen Brunson in the East Finals, but the MVP is gonna get his buckets — you can't stop him, you can only hope to slow him down.
BURNING QUESTION: Are the Thunder the perfect matchup in a track meet?
The Indiana Pacers ran roughshod through the Eastern Conference on the back of their relentless speed and pressure, pestering teams with a full-court press, forcing turnovers and misses, and turning them into easy buckets in transition. They've netted a league-leading 1.32 points per possession in transition in the playoffs and possess a Rolodex of athletic players to ensure the pressure never goes away.
New York had to turn to guys like Landry Shamet and Delon Wright just to keep up, but the Thunder don't have that problem. OKC is just as willing to push the pace on both ends by going deep into their rotation to keep effort levels high, throwing out high-hustle guys like Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Alex Caruso, Luguentz Dort, Kenrich Williams (his nickname is Kenny Hustle for a reason), Jaylin Williams and Cason Wallace. Don't be shocked if the showdown looks something like the Atlanta 1996 men's relay.
Throughout the playoffs, the Thunder have allowed 1.10 points in transition, the fifth-best mark, but have gone up against three teams in the Nuggets, Timberwolves and Grizzlies, all in the top-16 in transition offence over the regular season. OKC had the third-best transition defence in the regular season, giving up only 1.06 per possession.
OKC is a team uniquely prepared to force the Pacers to play half-court basketball, and with Indiana's fast-paced offence mucked up, the Thunder should be able to excel.
X-FACTOR: Alex Caruso
Has Caruso quietly been the fourth most important Thunder player throughout the playoffs? Hard to believe for a guy who hasn't made a start, is only playing 22.5 minutes a night and is only averaging 8.8 points per game.
But Caruso has been impacting everything, everywhere, all at once when he's on the floor, and has a league-leading 4.9 defensive box plus-minus throughout the playoffs to show for it. His 1.8 steals per game and 3.8 steal percentage are some of the toughest marks the Pacers have had to contend with, and his willingness to guard one through five put him on the level of defensive versatility we saw from OG Anunoby in the East Final.
The Knicks figured something out in Game 5 against the Pacers. Once Indiana gets into their half-court sets and runs pick-and-rolls through Nembhard, the Knicks put Anunoby on him and completely stalled out their offence, limiting them to 0.611 points per possession.
Though he bounced back in Game 6 with a 14-point, eight-assist night, it stands to reason that the Thunder will attack the Pacers' half-court offence in a similar way, and have a deeper, more switchable team to solve any adjustments. That starts with Caruso.
The 31-year-old guard, the "unc" of the Thunder, also brings veteran leadership and championship experience, having won in 2020 with the Los Angeles Lakers, a necessary been-there-done-that factor for a core that otherwise hasn't come close to these heights.
