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Oklahoma City Thunder is one of the most popular franchises in the NBA. Led by Russell Westbrook, they are one of the strongest teams in the league today and are known for their consistency to make it to the playoffs every year.
The franchise's General Manager Sam Presti is known for making some historic moves and is widely recognized by everyone as one of the smartest General Managers in the NBA. It is a widely known fact that several NBA players who were drafted by the franchise enjoyed limited success with the franchise but their careers went to the next level after they left the team.
In this article, let us take a look at three NBA players whose careers blossomed after they left the Oklahoma City Thunder. Read on to find out.
#1 James Harden
Today, James Harden is one of the best players in the league and the defending MVP is known for his patented-moves that help him score easily. Last season, he led the Houston Rockets to the league's best record and the franchise had one of their best seasons ever, even though they failed to win the title.
However, it was Oklahoma City Thunder that drafted him to the league with the third overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft. He provided a solid scoring option for the Thunder off the bench and even won the Sixth Man of the Year award in 2012. He played a huge part and helped the Thunder reach the 2012 NBA finals.
He was traded to the Houston Rockets before the start of the 2012-13 season after he failed to agree on a contract extension. He signed a five-year $80 million contract with the Rockets and he never looked back as he went on to become the cornerstone of the franchise.
Harden made it to the All-Star Game during his first season with the Rockets and is currently a six-time consecutive All-Star. He was the assists leader in 2017, scoring champion in 2018 and won the MVP trophy. He has achieved a lot after he came to the Rockets and it is safe to say that his career blossomed a lot after he left OKC Thunder.
#2 Victor Oladipo
The Indiana Pacers have now become synonymous with Victor Oladipo. He is one of the main reasons for their success last season and the Pacers almost defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference First Round of playoffs.
After his first three impressive seasons with the Orlando Magic, he was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder, along with Ersan İlyasova and the draft rights to Domantas Sabonis, in exchange for Serge Ibaka. Playing alongside Westbrook, his stats took a huge dip, and he did not receive a lot of touches. He had to play second fiddle to Russell Westbrook and that did not give him enough opportunity to showcase his talent.
After the end of the 2016-17 season, he was traded, along with Domantas Sabonis, to the Indiana Pacers, in exchange for Paul George. He had a terrific 2017-18 season and eventually won the Most Improved Player award and was also the steals leader that season.
To no one's surprise, he was even named to the All-Star Game 2018. He averaged career-highs in all five statistical categories and led the Indiana Pacers to the playoffs.
#3 Domantas Sabonis
Domantas Sabonis is currently one of the best centers in the league and everyone who has been watching the Indiana Pacers play this season will understand this. Coming off the bench, he is dominating on both ends of the floor and is providing a much-needed spark for the Pacers.
Even though he was selected by the Orlando Magic in the 2016 NBA draft with the 11th overall pick, he was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder on the draft night. With the Thunder, he started in as many as 66 games but enjoyed very limited success.
Although he showed has the potential to succeed, his inexperience was clearly visible and did not have a noteworthy season.
After getting traded to the Indiana Pacers, he started performing to his true potential and shocked everyone around the league with his dominance. He quickly became one of their most important players and it clearly reflected in the stat sheet.
This season, he has improved further and is currently averaging almost close to a double-double with 14.0 points and 9.9 rebounds.
Guess the Lakers players!
