Oklahoma City is the NBA's next contender to take on Golden State

In June 2012, the Oklahoma City Thunder bowed out of the NBA Finals in rather respectable fashion. It was assumed that OKC was in its first of what would be several consecutive pairings with the LeBron James-led Miami Heat, and that this league had its next Lakers/Celtics-styled Finals rivalry on its hands.

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A million miles away, the Golden State Warriors were a few months removed from watching as their team’s new owner was booed on the squad’s home court, while Rick Barry had to act as the chastising dad telling a sold-out crowd to not chew with their mouths open. The team’s core, Stephen Curry and newly-acquired Andrew Bogut, had zero working ankles between them. Mark Jackson was still the team’s coach. Draymond Green, then at Michigan State, still played basketball for free.

Though everyone should be enjoying the Warriors’ rise to prominence, things have changed since then in ways that should deaden basketball fans. Due to brutal bad luck due to injury woes, the Thunder have become a championship afterthought; even missing the playoffs last season. The Warriors are on pace to destroy the NBA’s record for most wins in a season.

They play on Saturday night, thank goodness, and the Thunder still employs Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Call it a coin flip.

Right, Russell?

Part of this is gamesmanship. Hell, all of this is gamesmanship, as evidenced by Westbrook’s seeming unawareness that he and his Thunder would be playing on national broadcast TV on Saturday night against a team that has won 92 percent of its games thus far this season:

Part of this is because the Thunder, let’s face it, appear to be the NBA’s last great hope.

The Cleveland Cavaliers were demolished by the Warriors a few weeks ago, and though there are caveats – new coach, Cavs took two games from Golden State last June with a decimated roster, et al – the rout was a striking affair. The Spurs have similar excuses as they played without Tim Duncan in a blowout loss to GSW, but the way in which the defending champs made even a reborn Tony Parker look like a liability was just as frightening.

The Clippers keep winning, but they look like an implosion waiting to happen. The Raptors are streaking, but they’re unproven. The Bulls are even messier. The Grizzlies are even older. It’s come down to these Thunder, a team that could be in the last year of what should have been a championship pairing between Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook (not to lay blame on either player, just their knees and feet), to bring the noise.

If that’s over-selling a game in the first week of February, then sue me if I play too long. Just pretend like you aren’t looking forward to this.

In any other year, the Thunder would be acting as championship favorites. The team is on pace for 62 wins, and it boasts an out of this world Offensive Rating. It also boasts two players that, in any other year, would be classified as MVP favorites. That offense would take the top mark in the NBA in just about any other year. Everything would be hunky dory if it weren’t for Stephen Curry and his damned Golden State Warriors.

Despite all the side-eye, though, you don’t get the feeling the Thunder harbor much enmity for the defending champs. Part of this is because team is smart enough to be well-versed in not giving us hacks much narrative to work with. The other is possibly because, in a Western Conference playoff bracket that has seemed to pair just about every variation of championship contender against itself since the Lakers fell apart in 2011, the Warriors and Thunder have yet to meet in a postseason series.

They’ve yet to meet so far this season, and just about any attempt to gauge how the two would match up while allowing for OKC’s various alterations (a first-year coach in Billy Donovan, the injury woes, the massive roster changeovers) would be a foolish move. What’s heartening is that this appears to be the lone Western Conference matchup that nobody should a clue about.

The core is known, but the outside parts in OKC continue to intrigue. Rookie guard Cameron Payne looks like the long-armed devastator that everyone wants Michael Carter-Williams to be. Enes Kanter remains a huge luxury off the bench, destroying reserve big men on the glass on both ends while enviably finishing on both sides of the rim. Dion Waiters doesn’t make you want to throw your remote anymore. Serge Ibaka has hit 15 more three-pointers than Derrick Rose has, this season. Nick Collison still moves his feet.

Were it not for a worrying turnover streak and Golden State’s offensive dominance, the Thunder would be viewed as a borderline legendary offensive team. Russell Westbrook has the ball, now, and if this appears to be a problem the fruits of his labor would beg to disagree. Kevin Durant has returned in full from a series of foot ailments that have downed many a player his size, happily picking and posting and popping.

Most impressively, rookie coach Billy Donovan looks to be up for the gig. A decade after backing out of taking on the Orlando Magic job, the former NCAA coach has kept the Thunder on it.

The continued narrative that leaves former college coaches out of their element as they attempt to play the recruiter role with uninterested millionaire professionals has some merit, but the real handicap is any new coach’s lack of familiarity with the 450 new pros he has to now scout. Donovan will never be able to turn this Thunder squad into a top-flight defensive group, not with this roster, but for Oklahoma City to be rolling this well with the 2014 NBA MVP playing 300 fewer minutes than Kentavious Caldwell-Pope this year is an accomplishment.

This is why the Thunder stands as the league’s next great hope. This isn’t to discount the Spurs or Cavaliers, but the NBA has been smart to line up both of those teams as nationally televised obstacles for Golden State to take on, and disappointed as both acted as ducks in a row to be brought down. The Thunder, seemingly drama-less in spite of Kevin Durant’s pending free agency, appear to be potent enough to make a difference.

They don’t stand a chance in stopping Golden State defensively, no one does, but what if the game was played as a “first to 120, wins?”

That’s worth tuning into. Next challenger, up.

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Kelly Dwyer

is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at KDonhoops@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KDonhoops