OKC Voters Made Right Call Securing OKC Thunder Future In Wake of 76ers News

Oklahoma City Thunder will be in Oklahoma City to stay after last November’s vote. 76ers show why that was the right call.

Apr 2, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) and Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7) meet on court after 76ers win at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

The Oklahoma City Thunder will soon begin the 2024-25 season, with expectations sky high as nearly every media pundit and even the betting odds suggests the team will be the best in the Western Conference. May are forecasting a date with the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals for this young Thunder squad. 

A year ago, Oklahoma City improved their record by 15-plus wins again, making a 17-game improvement to tally up 57 wins en route to the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. This was yet another surprise and an overshoot of what was expected before the season. During the 2024-25 campaign, Oklahoma City will not make a 15-plus win total leap and will have a hard time outperforming expectations given how lofty the goals set for them are entering the year. 

However, even as the Thunder won their first playoff series since 2016 and nearly made the Western Conference Finals perhaps their biggest win came off the court back in November. 

Voters in Oklahoma City extended a tax bill that would allow the city to work with the organization to erect a new arena in downtown OKC with the tax payers agreeing to shoulder the financial burden to secure the future of their lone professional sports franchise. 

With the new area poised to open in 2029-30 coming with another long term lease in Bricktown, the residence in OKC saw the benefits that the community has reaped since becoming a big league city. Which is why they overwhelmingly came out in support on Election Day. 

This allows Thunder fans to go full throttle on this team enjoying the development of rising stars Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams, the dazzling play of superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and pondering how the rest of the roster continues to take shape under the engineering of one of the best executives in the sport in Sam Presti. 

The Thunder seem set to contend for the next decade and securing their future in Oklahoma City just adds to that stability. 

Oklahoma City voters making this decision has allowed them to avoid the bickering, bargaining, bullying and threatening that ensues after a no vote as seen in Oakland, Kansas City and most recently Philadelphia. 

The historic 76ers may soon have a new home after not getting their way in stadium negotiations - the franchise shot their first threat this week leveraging the possibility of a move to New Jersey against the City of Brotherly Love. 

“The place for all Philadelphia teams to be is right here in Philadelphia, and that is a priority for me as mayor of this city,” Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker said on Wednesday after New Jersey offered the organization a stadium deal to remedy their arena problems. 

It is unclear if this is just an empty threat to strong arm their way into a new arena in their current - and historic - City or if a move  36 minute move is in order. The only thing that remains clear: Oklahoma City voters made the right choice to secure their teams future, or these same threats would’ve surely ensued. 

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