Oklahoma City Thunder

For the minor league American football team, see Oklahoma Thunder.

Oklahoma City Thunder
2024–25 Oklahoma City Thunder season
Oklahoma City Thunder logo
ConferenceWestern
DivisionNorthwest
Founded1967
HistorySeattle SuperSonics
1967–2008
Oklahoma City Thunder
2008–present[1][2]
ArenaPaycom Center
LocationOklahoma City, Oklahoma
Team colorsThunder blue, sunset, yellow, dark blue[3][4][5]
       
Main sponsorLove's[6]
General managerSam Presti
Head coachMark Daigneault
OwnershipProfessional Basketball Club LLC (Clay Bennett, Chairman)[7]
Affiliation(s)Oklahoma City Blue
Championships1 (1979)
Conference titles4 (1978, 1979, 1996, 2012)
Division titles12 (1979, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2024)
Retired numbers7 (1, 4, 10, 19, 24, 32, 43)
Websitewww.nba.com/thunder
Association jersey
Team colours
Association
Icon jersey
Team colours
Icon
Statement jersey
Team colours
Statement

The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference.[8][9] The team plays its home games at Paycom Center.[10]

The Thunder's NBA G League affiliate is the Oklahoma City Blue, which it owns.[11] The Thunder are the only team in the major professional North American sports leagues based in the state of Oklahoma.[12] Oklahoma City previously hosted the New Orleans Hornets for two seasons following devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.[13][14]

The team was originally established as the Seattle SuperSonics, an expansion team that joined the NBA for the 1967–68 season. The SuperSonics relocated from Seattle to Oklahoma City on July 3, 2008, after a settlement was reached between the ownership group led by Clay Bennett and lawmakers in Seattle following a lawsuit.[15] In Seattle, the SuperSonics qualified for the NBA playoffs 22 times, won their division six times, advanced to three NBA Finals, and won the 1979 NBA Championship.

In Oklahoma City, the Thunder qualified for their first playoff berth during the 2009–10 season. They won their first division title as the Thunder in the 2010–11 season and their first Western Conference championship as the Thunder in the 2011–12 season, appearing in the NBA Finals for the fourth time in franchise history and first time since 1996, when the team was based in Seattle.

  1. ^ "Franchise History–NBA Advanced Stats". NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
  2. ^ "NBA.com/Stats–Oklahoma City Thunder seasons". Stats.NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Archived from the original on December 2, 2022. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
  3. ^ "Thunder Unveils New Uniform in Partnership with Oklahoma City National Memorial". OKCThunder.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. July 23, 2019. Archived from the original on April 30, 2023. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  4. ^ "General Information" (PDF). 2023–24 Oklahoma City Thunder Media Guide (PDF). NBA Properties, Inc. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 4, 2023. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  5. ^ "Oklahoma City Thunder Reproduction and Usage Guideline Sheet". NBA Properties, Inc. Archived from the original on April 12, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  6. ^ "The Heart of OKC: Thunder, Love's Expand Partnership to Include Prominent Placement on Thunder Jersey". OKCThunder.com (Press release). NBA Media Ventures, LLC. March 15, 2019. Archived from the original on February 6, 2023. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  7. ^ "The Professional Basketball Club, LLC". NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Archived from the original on April 23, 2017. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  8. ^ "NBA Teams & Rosters". NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Archived from the original on June 21, 2019. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  9. ^ Mayberry, Darnell (April 21, 2008). "Sonics will stay in division League officials believe structure will work well with OKC". The Oklahoman. Archived from the original on December 1, 2022. Retrieved July 3, 2008.
  10. ^ "Welcome to Paycom Center". OKCThunder.com (Press release). NBA Media Ventures, LLC. October 3, 2021. Archived from the original on May 2, 2022. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  11. ^ "Oklahoma City Blue" (PDF). 2023–24 Oklahoma City Thunder Media Guide (PDF). NBA Properties, Inc. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 4, 2023. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  12. ^ "The Thunder Hits Oklahoma City Wednesday". OKCThunder.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. October 27, 2008. Archived from the original on December 19, 2015. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  13. ^ "Stern: Oklahoma City top candidate if team moves". ESPN.com. November 10, 2005. Archived from the original on October 31, 2022. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
  14. ^ "HORNETS: Hornets to Play in Oklahoma City". NBA.com. October 1, 2005. Archived from the original on October 1, 2005. Retrieved October 31, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  15. ^ "This Date in the NBA: July". NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. September 13, 2021. Archived from the original on June 5, 2023. Retrieved June 5, 2023. July 2, 2008–Professional Basketball Club LLC (PBC), led by Clay Bennett, reached a settlement agreement in the lawsuit filed by the city of Seattle, finalizing the move of the Seattle SuperSonics to the Oklahoma City Thunder.