Luka Doncic brings something out of Oklahoma City.
During Tuesday’s game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Dallas Mavericks, Doncic was met with boos on the level of Patrick Beverley, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green.
All of those players have something in common.
Only a certain subset of players transcend to “rival.” It’s a title that can only be earned organically. Countless times throughout NBA and Thunder history, outside forces have attempted to manufacture a rivalry. Victor Wembenyama vs. Chet Holmgren, Russell Westbrook vs. James Harden, Tracy McGrady vs. Kobe Bryant. All of these were or are in the process of being forced upon the fans and for that reason, none of them have truly stuck.
A true rivalry breeds passion.
Nobody told OKC fans to boo Beverley out of the building every time he touched the ball until he was out of the NBA. Same with Green and Durant. And now, it’s the same with Doncic and the rest of the Dallas Mavericks.
When Dallas comes to Oklahoma City or vice-versa, something just feels different.
The online portion of both fanbases has developed a genuine distaste for the other. From arguments over who’s better between Gilgeous-Alexander and Doncic to mindless conversations about what has become known as “foul-baiting,” it seems that whenever one fan makes a post, a fan from the other side infiltrates his comments.
This OKC team is a group of professionals. Previous Thunder stars have worn their emotions on their sleeves and made it clear who they do and don’t like. This iteration of the Thunder will play it cool when asked, but if you don’t think they take their matchups with Dallas a little more personally, you must not be watching the games.
Rarely do you see Shai Gilgeous-Alexander celebrate a three or go out of his way to get fancy with his ball handling to try and annihilate another player — unless he’s playing Dallas. You’ll never see Lu Dort more handsy and aggressive with an opposing player than he is with Doncic. Seldom is a chorus of boos so loud that it overtakes the announcers in the Paycom Center during a regular season game — it happened frequently Tuesday night.
While OKC and Dallas is a new rivalry, it comes down to the same thing that every other rivalry comes down to — the stars. Doncic and Gilgeous-Alexander are the leaders of a new wave of NBA basketball. Out with Steph Curry and James Harden and in with Gilgeous-Alexander and Doncic. Like Curry and Harden, the two defining guards of the next era of NBA basketball have played in the playoffs early in their careers and more clashes are sure to come.
Also like Curry and Harden, Doncic and Gilgeous-Alexander play contradicting styles.
Doncic is a superior natural passer with better innate instincts, but Doncic is clearly a disciple of Harden. Undeniably an elite passer, but an elite passer who commands the ball at a historically high usage rate and is an offense within themselves. That is a style that can work. In much different ways, Michael Jordan and Bryant were the offenses for their respective teams and they are two of the most winningest players in NBA history. When Doncic wants to be the best facilitator in the league, he can be and often is, as OKC found out when he threw up what felt like 100 successful lobs in the playoffs last season. However, Doncic often falls into the trap that Harden did. Why spread the wealth when you can generate one of the best offenses in the NBA with the ball constantly in your hands and pass when you have to?
The way Gilgeous-Alexander operates within his team is more reminiscent of Curry. Obviously, Curry’s outside shooting changed the way basketball is played and Gilgeous-Alexander’s biggest weakness is his 3-point shooting. They are similar in the way in which they play within their team. Gilgeous-Alexander is more than happy to work off-ball or let a teammate initiate the offense, whether that be Dort or Cason Wallace. Doncic will defer to Kyrie Irving, but it is usually one of those two taking the ball up the court. OKC, on the other hand, has as many different players bring the ball up the court as any team in the NBA. Like Curry, Gilgeous-Alexander seems just as happy to let Isaiah Joe or Isaiah Hartenstein shoot as he is when he shoots himself.
Neither style is superior to the other. The odds that Gilgeous-Alexander ever reaches the heights of Curry are unlikely, while Doncic has already surpassed Harden’s best mark in terms of winning in the postseason. Regardless of stylistic preference or postseason success rates, it is undeniable that like the generation before them, Gilgeous-Alexander and Doncic are both seeing immense success while representing different sides of the dominant guard coin.
Gilgeous-Alexander and Doncic are always going to headline the matchup, but the diametric opposition continues well down the roster.
Outside of Doncic, Dallas’ team is made of outside acquisition. Irving, PJ Washington, Naji Marshall, Daniel Gafford and Quentin Grimes were all acquired via trade. You look at OKC and Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Wallace, Joe and Dort were all either drafted by the team or picked up off the scrap heap.
Lastly, OKC is well aware of its small market status. Fans on social media often come off as insecure or upset at the teams’ undersized roots. Dallas just so happens to be a Metropolis and the closest NBA market to OKC outside of itself.
Everywhere you look, the teams are total opposites. From superstar to role player to market size, everything is totally different between the two sides and naturally, that is going to create dislike.
As Curry, Harden, LeBron James and Kevin Durant ride off into the NBA sunset, new rivalries will have to emerge. Maybe the Wembenyama-Holmgren rivalry that the NBA has shoved down the throat of America will come on, or maybe Boston and New York will finally be good at the same time. For now, OKC-Dallas is the best the league has got and if it stays that way, it’ll be in good hands for years to come.
