1. Oklahoma City Thunder 2010s all-decade starting lineup
- Russell Westbrook
- James Harden
- Paul George
- Kevin Durant
- Serge Ibaka
This lineup wasn’t built on luck or chance. It’s the brilliance of Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti personified. He drafted three future MVPs and an elite defensive force and made an unexpected blockbuster deal for one of the game’s best two-way threats.
Two things are worth noting for OKC. The first is James Harden, who was no better than an elite sixth man — the Sixth Man of the Year actually — during his time as a member.
Although, on a team with so many offensive weapons, having Harden in more of a complementary role is probably for the best, where he’d be more concerned about getting his teammates involved.
Serge Ibaka has focused more of his energy towards the offensive end in recent years, but as a member of the Thunder, he was arguably the most feared shot-blocker in the NBA, averaging as many as 3.7 blocks per game.
That OG core of Ibaka and Harden along with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were something special early on. It’s why they got to the Finals with not one of them more than 23 years of age.
Think about that but with more developed versions of KD and Russ, combining their absurd talent with levels of experience and growth that helped foster their respective MVP campaigns.
Mix into that group a version of Paul George who finished third in the voting for both MVP and Defensive Player of the Year and the overwhelming amount of talent both superstar and other is more than enough to warrant the top spot.