Oklahoma City Thunder · Franchise era 3 of 6
Payton, Kemp and Seattle's final years: the Oklahoma City Thunder story
Franchise era
1990–91—2007–08
Payton, Kemp and Seattle's final years
Oklahoma City Thunder
The story in one sentence
Payton and Kemp led a 64-win finalist before the roster evolved around Allen and the franchise ultimately left Seattle.
Pressure defense, the 1996 Finals and relocation
Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp and Ray Allen gave the era its recognizable core.
Its ending created the conditions for the first thunder superteam.
Timeline
How it unfolded
Before 1990–91
What came before
Seattle remained dangerous and found elite scoring, though it could not reconstruct the title formula.
1993
Western Conference Finals: Seattle SuperSonics vs Phoenix Suns
1996
Western Conference Finals: Seattle SuperSonics vs Utah Jazz
1996
NBA Finals: Seattle SuperSonics vs Chicago Bulls
After 2007–08
What came next
An unprecedented collection of young talent reached the 2012 Finals and four conference finals before injuries and departures narrowed the window.
The core