It is hard to imagine what could have been if the big three of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden never parted ways from Loud City.
When the three eventual league MVPs were on the same team, the OKC Thunder were nothing short of spectacular. When Harden was drafted back in 2009, the Thunder finished eighth in the Western Conference. Each season leading up to his eventual departure, the Thunder finished as the second and fourth seeds. To match that, the Thunder went to two Conference Finals, as well as one Finals appearance, where they faced LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, and the Miami Heat.
It seemed that it was only a matter of time before the Thunder came out on top, as their big three’s average age was roughly 24-years-old, and Harden was up to sign an extension. However, former Thunder center Kendrick Perkins stated on The Road Trippin’ podcast that when the time came to play for the 2012 Olympic team, other players may have pulled some strings.
“(Kevin Durant) said, ‘Man, we're about to lose (Harden)'," Perkins said. "At the Olympics (LeBron James, Dwyane Wade), all those guys were telling James, 'Bro, (you're) too nice to be coming off the bench... You need to have your own team.’”
While there were many other reasons and circumstances for Harden going to the Houston Rockets, to think that it all possibly started due to his Olympic teammates is quite intriguing.