There’s a poignant moment in Jonathan Abrams’s oral history about the 2002 Kings, right after the section covering their gut-wrenching Game 7 defeat, when a Sacramento employee named Devin Blankenship remembers his coworkers consoling one another. They were saying all the right things about losing to the Lakers. It’s just the beginning. This is the start of something bigger. You can’t win the big one until you lose a few tough ones. Their boss overheard and went the other way, wondering aloud, What if that was it? What if that was our shot?
That moment resonated for a simple reason: That WAS their shot. And that WAS it.
The boss wasn’t describing a “shot” as much as a window. If you’re blessed with Michael and Scottie in their mid-twenties, that window should last for a decade, as long as nothing funky happens. If you’re catching C-Webb right as he’s hitting his prime, and you’re surrounding him with quality veterans who connect with his unselfish playing style, maybe that’s four or five guaranteed years. If you’re teaming up Pierce and Garnett and Allen at the tail end of their primes, you’re publicly hoping for five healthy years and secretly praying for three. Every A-list contender has a built-in window, and almost always, you know what it is. When that window slams shut well before you’re ready, you never really get over it.
Will we remember Oklahoma City that way someday?
It's interesting to ponder, not just for the Thunder but also some of the other contenders who are projected to stay together for a few years to come. The mention of the Bulls teams of recent years certainly resonated with me; in 2011, things were looking up, as it appeared they were emerging as a contender that would be in the thick of the title hunt for years to come, just needing to add an extra piece or two as they tried to get over the hump. Fast forward a few years, and we've seen what some terrible luck can do to a team that looks like it's going to be in the championship conversation for the next few seasons. It just goes to show that there's no guarantee that a team will remain among the NBA's elite once they do crack the upper echelon.
Personally, I hope that isn't the case. I'd like there to be at least three or four teams - preferably at least two from each Conference - that have a realistic shot at winning it all, year in and year out. Needless to say, I'd like the Bulls to become one of those teams, but at the very least I want to see some exciting clashes and a touch of uncertainty come the Playoffs.
