When the Thunder first moved to town, then-Oklahoman sports editor Mike Sherman met with Sam Presti and warned the general manager that Oklahomans had grown quite fond of Chris Paul and the Hornets, Presti had a wise response.
“I think they’re gonna like Kevin Durant.”
It’s been 13 years since that April night when the Hornets played their final home game in Oklahoma City and then returned full-time to New Orleans. We were like 15-year-olds at summer camp, dealing with a lost first love. No way our hearts could ever be whole again.
Then soon enough, here came Durant and Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka and James Harden, Rumble and Perk, Nick Collison and Scotty Brooks, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Danilo Gallinari, and even Chris Paul, all grown up.