2011–12 Oklahoma City Thunder season

2011–12 Oklahoma City Thunder season
Head coach Scott Brooks
General manager Sam Presti
Owner(s) Professional Basketball Club LLC
Clay Bennett (Chairman)
Arena Chesapeake Energy Arena
Results
Record 47–19 (.712)
Place Division: 1st (Northwest)
Conference: 2nd (Western)
Playoff finish Eliminated by Miami Heat in Finals (4–1)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television Fox Sports Oklahoma
Radio KWPN and WWLS-FM
< 2010–11 2012–13 >

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). The Thunder continued to build on recent success in previous years by making the NBA Playoffs and advancing to the NBA Finals. 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

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 Guard  United States Boston College

Roster

Oklahoma City Thunder roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From
C 45 Aldrich, Cole style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) October 31, 1988 Kansas
F/C 4 Collison, Nick style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 255 lb (116 kg) October 26, 1980 Kansas
G 14 Cook, Daequan style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) April 28, 1987 Ohio State
G/F 35 Durant, Kevin (C) style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) September 29, 1988 Texas
G 37 Fisher, Derek style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 210 lb (95 kg) August 9, 1974 Arkansas-Little Rock
G 13 Harden, James style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) August 26, 1989 Arizona State
F 11 Hayward, Lazar style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) November 26, 1986 Marquette
F 9 Ibaka, Serge style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) September 18, 1989 Spain
G 7 Ivey, Royal style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) December 20, 1981 Texas
G 15 Jackson, Reggie style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 208 lb (94 kg) April 16, 1990 Boston College
G 6 Maynor, Eric  style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) June 11, 1987 Virginia Commonwealth
C 8 Mohammed, Nazr style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 250 lb (113 kg) September 5, 1977 Kentucky
C 5 Perkins, Kendrick style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 267 lb (121 kg) November 10, 1984 Clifton J. Ozen HS (TX)
G/F 2 Sefolosha, Thabo style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) May 2, 1984 Switzerland
G 0 Westbrook, Russell (C) style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 187 lb (85 kg) November 12, 1988 UCLA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Athletic trainer(s)
  • Joe Sharpe
Strength and conditioning coach(es)
  • Dwight Daub
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
2011–12 season schedule

Regular season

Standings

Northwest Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Oklahoma City Thunder 47 19 .712 – 26–7 21–12 10–3
x-Denver Nuggets 38 28 .576 9 20–13 18–15 6–7
x-Utah Jazz 36 30 .545 11 25–8 11–22 9–4
Portland Trail Blazers 28 38 .424 19 20–13 8–25 4–10
Minnesota Timberwolves 26 40 .394 21 13–20 13–20 4–9
# Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-San Antonio Spurs 50 16 .758 –
2 y-Oklahoma City Thunder 47 19 .712 3
3 y-Los Angeles Lakers 41 25 .621 9
4 x-Memphis Grizzlies 41 25 .621 9
5 x-Los Angeles Clippers 40 26 .606 10
6 x-Denver Nuggets 38 28 .576 12
7 x-Dallas Mavericks 36 30 .545 14
8 x-Utah Jazz 36 30 .545 14
9 Houston Rockets 34 32 .515 16
10 Phoenix Suns 33 33 .500 17
11 Portland Trail Blazers 28 38 .424 22
12 Minnesota Timberwolves 26 40 .394 24
13 Golden State Warriors 23 43 .348 27
14 Sacramento Kings 22 44 .333 28
15 New Orleans Hornets 21 45 .318 29

c – clinched regular-season conference lead
x – clinched playoff spot
y – clinched division

Game log

2011–12 game log
Total: 47–19 (Home: 26–7; Road:21–12)
2011–12 season schedule

Playoffs

Game log

2012 playoff game log
2012 playoff schedule

Awards, records and milestones

Awards

Weekly

Monthly

All-Star

Season

Injuries and surgeries

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

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

Shooting guard Daequan Cook suffered 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 Gave Up
December 11, 2011 Draftee signing • United States Reggie Jackson
December 12, 2011 Draftee signing • United States Ryan Reid
December 13, 2011 Roster trade • United States Lazar Hayward • United States Robert Vaden (to Minnesota)
• two conditional second-round picks (to Minnesota)
December 19, 2011 Roster trade • 2013 second-round pick • United States Byron Mullens (to Charlotte)
December 24, 2011 Waiver • United States Nate Robinson
March 21, 2012 Free Agent Signing • United States Derek Fisher
March 21, 2012 Waiver • United States Ryan Reid

See also

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. 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. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  6. ↑ "LeBron, Durant named NBA Players of the Week". www.nba.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. January 3, 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. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  9. ↑ "LeBron James, Kevin Durant win Player of the Month honors". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. March 2, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  10. ↑ "Pierce, Durant named Eastern, Western players of the month". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. April 4, 2012. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
  11. ↑ "Thibodeau, Brooks named Coaches of the Month". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. February 1, 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. 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, 1012. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  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. 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. ↑ 24.0 24.1 "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.

External links