“ Madness “, “ criminal “, ” laughable “… Here is a brief anthology of Internet users' reactions to the Thunder's absence from the upcoming Christmas match schedule.
Invited to react on the subjectSam Presti is more measured, starting by recalling: ” I don't think there's another small market team that has played at Christmas more often than we have. »
It is true that his team had an automatic “subscription” to this always highly anticipated annual event. The Thunder was thus scheduled from 2010 to 2018, nine years in a row.
The OKC franchise, which has undergone several years of rebuilding, has not been invited since. It logically could have been for the upcoming season, due to its status as No. 1 in the West last year.
A very young team in 2010 too
” I think there is a bit of Hanlon's Razor (editor's note: reasoning allowing the elimination of hypotheses, summarized as follows: ” Never attribute to malice what stupidity can explain. ») in there – and I say that in relation to not being scheduled for opening night and Christmas Day, having the second player in the MVP vote (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) And (after obtaining) first place ” says Sam Presti.
The latter therefore politely displays his annoyance: “ But I also like it, in the sense that the people who are making these decisions – I think it's probably the league – I think they look more at age and say, 'Well, that's too young.' Maybe they don't think we're this or that. I like that challenge. »
If the Thunder is too “young”, what about the Spurs? of Victor Wembanyama then? The average age of the Texan team, which also plays in a small market, is comparable to that of OKC.
It's also worth noting that in 2010, for the team's first Christmas call-up (after the Sonics era), the team's leaders – Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Jeff Green, James Harden and Serge Ibaka – were all under 25…
Christmas Matches Reminder
- Knicks – Spurs
- Mavs – Wolves
- Celtics – Sixers
- Warriors – Lakers
- Suns – Nuggets
