Puneet Varma (Editor)

2011–12 Oklahoma City Thunder season

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Record
  
47–19 (.712)

Head coach
  
Scott Brooks

End date
  
2012

Arena
  
Chesapeake Energy Arena

Television
  
Fox Sports Oklahoma

General manager
  
Sam Presti

Owner
  
Clay Bennett

Radios
  
KWPN, WWLS-FM

2011–12 Oklahoma City Thunder season httpscdn0voxcdncomthumborIM56ijmrW1tE87cUT

Place
  
Division: 1st (Northwest) Conference: 2nd (Western)

Playoff finish
  
NBA Finals (Lost to Heat 1–4)

Similar
  
2011–12 NBA season, 2012–13 Miami Heat season, 2003–04 Los Angeles, 2012–13 NBA season, 2008–09 Orlando Magic se

The 2011–12 Oklahoma City Thunder season was the 4th season of the franchise's existence in Oklahoma City as a member of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Thunder continued to build on recent success in previous years by making the NBA Playoffs and advancing to the NBA Finals. Other season highlights included forward Kevin Durant's third consecutive NBA scoring title, and Durant being named the MVP of the All-Star Game.

Contents

Key dates

  • June 23: The 2011 NBA draft took place at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

    • Draft picks

    In contrast to 2010, the NBA draft for the Thunder on June 23, 2011 held little drama. After previously trading their 2011 second-round pick to the Miami Heat, the Thunder were left with only the No. 24 overall pick. They used it to acquire rights to Reggie Jackson, a guard from Boston College.

    c – clinched regular-season conference lead
    x – clinched playoff spot
    y – clinched division

    Weekly

  • Westbrook was named Western Conference Player of the Week for January 23–29, and February 6–12.
  • Kevin Durant was named Western Conference Player of the Week for December 25 – January 1, February 13–19, and March 19–25.

    • Monthly

  • Kevin Durant was named Western Conference Player of the Month for February and March 2012.
  • Coach Scott Brooks was named Coach of the Month for games played in December and January.

    • All-Star

  • Durant was named as a starter for the Western Conference in the 2012 NBA All-Star Game played in Orlando, earning the game's MVP Award.
  • Russell Westbrook was selected as an All-Star team reserve by a vote of the Western Conference coaches.
  • Thunder Coach Scott Brooks coached the Western Conference team in the All-Star Game due to the fact that the Thunder lead the Western Conference in winning percentage heading into the All-Star break.

    • Season

  • Durant won the regular season scoring title by averaging 28.0 points per game, making him only the seventh player in NBA history to win three scoring titles in a row.
  • Reserve guard James Harden was a runaway winner of the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award, garnering 115 of 119 first-place votes.
  • Durant was voted to the All-NBA First Team for the third year in a row, whereas Westbrook was voted to the All-NBA Second Team for the second year in a row.
  • Forward Serge Ibaka was voted to the All-NBA Defensive First Team.

    • Records

    Most Points In A Single Finals Game: Kevin Durant with 40

    Injuries and surgeries

    Backup point guard Eric Maynor suffered a season-ending torn ACL in his right knee in action at Houston on January 7.

    Starting shooting guard Thabo Sefolosha suffered from a chronic sore right foot, forcing him to miss 23 games from January 30 through March 13.

    Shooting guard Daequan Cook suffered a mild MCL sprain in his right knee against the Utah Jazz on March 20, sidelining him for an estimated 2–3 weeks.

    Guard James Harden was diagnosed with concussive symptoms after being elbowed in the back of the head on April 22 by Lakers forward Metta World Peace. Harden was cleared to play for the Thunder's regular season finale against the Denver Nuggets after undergoing NBA-mandated post-concussion tests, but instead sat out until the first game of the playoffs. World Peace received a seven-game suspension for the incident.

    Current roster

    On June 28, 2011, the Thunder exercised its fourth-year options on guard James Harden, forward Serge Ibaka, guard Eric Maynor and center Byron Mullens, as well as its third-year option on center Cole Aldrich.

    On June 29, 2011, the Thunder signed center Nazr Mohammed to a one-year extension through 2011–12, avoiding his becoming an unrestricted free agent. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but reported to be $3,750,000 for the year.

    On June 27, 2011, the Thunder provided guard Daequan Cook a qualifying offer of $3,126,764 for 2011–12, making Cook a restricted free agent under the terms of the NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement set to expire after June 30, 2011. Cook's contract situation was resolved after the NBA lockout when the Thunder signed him to a contract extension paying him $6.5 million through the end of the 2012–13 season.

    On December 13, 2011, the Thunder traded Robert Vaden and two conditional second-round draft selections to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Lazar Hayward.

    Free agents

    On March 21, 2012, the Thunder signed point guard Derek Fisher for the remainder of the 2012 season, after waiving its second-round 2010 draft pick forward Ryan Reid. Fisher had previously been traded form the Los Angeles Lakers to the Houston Rockets on March 15, but the Rockets subsequently bought out Fisher's contract making him an unrestricted free agent.

    References

    2011–12 Oklahoma City Thunder season Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA


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