July 4th, 2017, may seem like a forgettable date in Thunder history, but it could turn out to be one of the brightest. No, it was not because Oklahoma City signed a marquee free agent — quite the contrary. It’s memorable because the Thunder signed Patrick Patterson and finally began moving into the modern era of basketball.
Former Thunder fan-favorite Serge Ibaka long held the reins at starting power forward in Oklahoma City, but was never the true floor-stretching big the Thunder needed to keep up with an evolving NBA landscape. While he did expand his mid-range shot to the three point line, it came at the expense of his field goal percentage around the rim — yielding him a fairly one dimensional option.