2011–12 Oklahoma City Thunder season

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).

2011–12 Oklahoma City Thunder season
Conference champions
Division champions
Head coachScott Brooks
General managerSam Presti
OwnersProfessional Basketball Club LLC
Clay Bennett (Chairman)
ArenaChesapeake Energy Arena
Results
Record47–19 (.712)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Northwest)
Conference: 2nd (Western)
Playoff finishNBA Finals
(Lost to Heat 1–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionFox Sports Oklahoma
RadioKWPN and WWLS-FM

The Thunder continued to build on recent success in previous years by making the NBA Playoffs, first defeating and sweeping the defending NBA champions, the Dallas Mavericks, in four games in the First Round, then defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in five games in the Semifinals, and finally, defeated the San Antonio Spurs in six games in the Western Conference Finals to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1996, when the club was based in Seattle.

In the NBA Finals, the Thunder faced off against the Big Three-led Miami Heat, who made an appearance in the previous NBA Finals, but lost to the Dallas Mavericks in six games. Despite winning Game 1 in the NBA Finals, the Thunder would then go on to lose the next four games and the NBA Finals against the Heat.

Other season highlights included forward Kevin Durant's third consecutive NBA scoring title, and Durant being named the MVP of the All-Star Game.

Key dates

Draft picks
Main article: 2011 NBA draft

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,[2] 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.[3]

Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
1 24 Reggie Jackson PG  United States Boston College

Roster
Roster listing
2011–12 Oklahoma City Thunder roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
C 45 Aldrich, Cole 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) October 31, 1988 Kansas
PF 4 Collison, Nick 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 255 lb (116 kg) October 26, 1980 Kansas
SG 14 Cook, Daequan 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) April 28, 1987 Ohio State
SF 35 Durant, Kevin (C) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) September 29, 1988 Texas
PG 37 Fisher, Derek 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 210 lb (95 kg) August 9, 1974 Little Rock
SG 13 Harden, James 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) August 26, 1989 Arizona State
SF 11 Hayward, Lazar 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) November 26, 1986 Marquette
PF 9 Ibaka, Serge 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) September 18, 1989 Spain
PG 7 Ivey, Royal 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) December 20, 1981 Texas
PG 15 Jackson, Reggie 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 208 lb (94 kg) April 16, 1990 Boston College
PG 6 Maynor, Eric  6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) June 11, 1987 Virginia Commonwealth
C 8 Mohammed, Nazr 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 250 lb (113 kg) September 5, 1977 Kentucky
C 5 Perkins, Kendrick 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 267 lb (121 kg) November 10, 1984 Clifton J. Ozen HS (TX)
SG 2 Sefolosha, Thabo 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) May 2, 1984 Switzerland
PG 0 Westbrook, Russell (C) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 187 lb (85 kg) November 12, 1988 UCLA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • (DL) On assignment to D-League affiliate
  • Injured

Roster
Last transaction: March 21, 2012

Pre-season
2011 pre-season game log
Pre-season: 2–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 1–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
1 December 18 @ Dallas 106–92 Kevin Durant (21) Kendrick Perkins (8) Russell Westbrook (4) American Airlines Center 1–0
2 December 20 Dallas 87–83 James Harden (13) Kendrick Perkins
James Harden (8)		 James Harden (5) Chesapeake Energy Arena 2–0
2011–12 season schedule

Regular season

Standings
Northwest Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div GP
y-Oklahoma City Thunder 47 19 .712 0.0 26–7 21–12 10–3 66
x-Denver Nuggets 38 28 .576 9.0 20–13 18–15 6–7 66
x-Utah Jazz 36 30 .545 11.0 25–8 11–22 9–4 66
Portland Trail Blazers 28 38 .424 19.0 20–13 8–25 4–10 66
Minnesota Timberwolves 26 40 .394 21.0 13–20 13–20 4–9 66
Western Conference
# Team W L PCT GB GP
1 c-San Antonio Spurs * 50 16 .758 – 66
2 y-Oklahoma City Thunder * 47 19 .712 3.0 66
3 y-Los Angeles Lakers * 41 25 .621 9.0 66
4 x-Memphis Grizzlies 41 25 .621 9.0 66
5 x-Los Angeles Clippers 40 26 .606 10.0 66
6 x-Denver Nuggets 38 28 .576 12.0 66
7 x-Dallas Mavericks 36 30 .545 14.0 66
8 x-Utah Jazz 36 30 .545 14.0 66
9 Houston Rockets 34 32 .515 16.0 66
10 Phoenix Suns 33 33 .500 17.0 66
11 Portland Trail Blazers 28 38 .424 22.0 66
12 Minnesota Timberwolves 26 40 .394 24.0 66
13 Golden State Warriors 23 43 .348 27.0 66
14 Sacramento Kings 22 44 .333 28.0 66
15 New Orleans Hornets 21 45 .318 29.0 66

Game log
2011–12 game log
Total: 47–19 (Home: 26–7; Road: 21–12)
December: 5–0 (Home: 3–0; Road: 2–0)
January: 11–4 (Home: 5–1; Road: 6–3)
February: 12–3 (Home: 7–0; Road: 5–3)
March: 11–5 (Home: 7–3; Road: 4–2)
April : 8–7 (Home: 4–3; Road: 4–4)
2011–12 season schedule

Playoffs

Game log
2012 playoff game log
First round: 4–0 (Home: 2–0; Road: 2–0)
Conference Semifinals: 4–1 (Home: 3–0; Road: 1–1)
Conference Finals: 4–2 (Home: 3–0; Road: 1–2)
NBA Finals: 1–4 (Home: 1–1; Road: 0–3)
2012 playoff schedule

Awards, records and milestones

Awards

Weekly

Monthly

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.[12]
  • 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.[13]

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.[14]
  • Reserve guard James Harden was a runaway winner of the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award, garnering 115 of 119 first-place votes.[15]
  • 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.[16]
  • Forward Serge Ibaka was voted to the All-NBA Defensive First Team.[17]

Milestones

Injuries and surgeries

Backup point guard Eric Maynor had a season-ending torn ACL in his right knee in action at Houston on January 7.[18]

Starting shooting guard Thabo Sefolosha had a chronic sore right foot, forcing him to miss 23 games from January 30 through March 13.[19]

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

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.[21]

Transactions

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.[22]

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.[23] Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but reported to be $3,750,000 for the year.[24]

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.[24][25] 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.[26]

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.[27]

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.[28] 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.

Transaction summary table
Date Transaction Type Thunder Acquired Thunder Subtracted
December 11, 2011 Draftee signing Reggie Jackson
December 12, 2011 Draftee signing Ryan Reid
December 13, 2011 Roster trade Lazar Hayward Robert Vaden (to Minnesota)
• two conditional second-round picks (to Minnesota)
December 19, 2011 Roster trade 2013 second-round pick Byron Mullens (to Charlotte)
December 24, 2011 Waiver Nate Robinson
March 21, 2012 Free Agent Signing Derek Fisher
March 21, 2012 Waiver Ryan Reid

References
  1. "Report: NBA draft moving to Newark". ESPN.com. October 27, 2010. Archived from the original on October 30, 2010. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
  2. "Thunder Acquires Pleiss, Williams, Reid and Future First Round Pick in 2010 NBA Draft". www.nba.com/thunder. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. June 24, 2010. Archived from the original on June 28, 2010. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
  3. Mayberry, Darnell (June 26, 2011). "Thunder draft pick Reggie Jackson might be Russell Westbrook 2.0". The Oklahoman. Retrieved July 8, 2011.
  4. "Heat's James, Thunder's Westbrook named Players of the Week". www.nba.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. January 30, 2012. Archived from the original on August 28, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  5. "Knicks' Lin, Thunder's Westbrook named Players of the Week". www.nba.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. February 13, 2012. Archived from the original on February 15, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  6. "LeBron, Durant named NBA Players of the Week". www.nba.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. January 3, 2012. Archived from the original on January 10, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  7. "Heat's James, Thunder's Durant named Players of the Week". www.nba.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. February 20, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  8. "Durant, Johnson named Players of the Week". www.nba.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. March 26, 2012. Archived from the original on March 30, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  9. "LeBron James, Kevin Durant win Player of the Month honors". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. March 2, 2012. Archived from the original on March 3, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  10. "Pierce, Durant named Eastern, Western players of the month". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. April 4, 2012. Archived from the original on April 7, 2012. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
  11. "Thibodeau, Brooks named Coaches of the Month". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. February 1, 2012. Archived from the original on February 9, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  12. Peay, Carla (February 27, 2012). "Durant wins NBA All-Star Game MVP as West beats East". Washington Times. The Washginton Times, LLC. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
  13. "All-Star coaches Brooks, Thibodeau come from same NBA tree". www.nba.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. February 24, 2012. Archived from the original on February 28, 2012. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
  14. Shuster, Rachel (April 27, 2012). "No Kobe Bryant means NBA scoring title to Kevin Durant". USA Today. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  15. Falgoust, J. Michael (May 10, 2012). "Thunder's James Harden wins Sixth Man of the Year award". USA Today. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
  16. Mayberry, Darnell (May 24, 2012). "OKC Thunder: Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook earn All-NBA honors". The Oklahoman. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
  17. "OKC Thunder: Serge Ibaka named to NBA's all-defensive team". The Oklahoman. May 23, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
  18. Mayberry, Darnell (January 9, 2012). "OKC loses Maynor to first major injury". The Oklahoman. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  19. Mayberry, Darnell (February 1, 2012). "Thunder notebook: Thabo Sefolosha sits; Daequan Cook starts". The Oklahoman. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  20. Rohde, John (March 21, 2012). "Thunder notebook: Daequan Cook out 2–3 weeks with injury". The Oklahoman. Retrieved July 7, 2011.
  21. "Thunder's Harden cleared but sits against Nuggets". www.nba.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. April 25, 2012. Archived from the original on November 14, 2012. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  22. "OKC Thunder exercise contract options on 5 players". The Oklahoman. June 28, 2011. Retrieved July 7, 2011.
  23. Mayberry, Darnell (June 29, 2011). "Nazr Mohammed Agrees To Extension". The Oklahoman. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved July 7, 2011.
  24. "Oklahoma City Salaries". www.hoopshype.com. Retrieved July 7, 2011.
  25. Mayberry, Darnell (June 27, 2011). "Thunder makes Daequan Cook a restricted free agent". The Oklahoman. Retrieved July 7, 2011.
  26. Mayberry, Darnell (December 9, 2011). "Thunder notebook: Guard Daequan Cook agrees to two-year extension". The Oklahoman. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  27. "Timberwolves Trade Lazar Hayward to Oklahoma City". NBA Media Ventures, LLC. December 13, 2011. Retrieved June 28, 2012.
  28. Latzke, Jeff (March 21, 2012). "Derek Fisher signs with Oklahoma City Thunder". The Oklahoman. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
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