New Year’s Eve 2008 was pivot point in OKC Thunder basketball history

The Thunder hosted its first New Year's Eve game 15 years ago, and watching the ball tip in Oklahoma City has been an annual tradition ever since.

The Thunder moved to 12-4 all-time on New Year's Eve by beating the Nets 124-108 Sunday night at Paycom Center.

But let's rewind to Dec. 31, 2008 — New Year's Eve in the Thunder's inaugural season.

The young Thunder was 3-29 going into a game against the 10-23 Warriors. Not exactly a prime matchup, but the game marked a pivot point in Thunder basketball history.

The Thunder beat the Warriors 107100. Jeff Green led the Thunder with 26 points. Kevin Durant had 25 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Russell Westbrook had five steals. The Thunder's other two starters that night … anyone? That would be Desmond Mason and Robert Swift. Chris Wilcox (!) had a season-high 23 points off the bench.

Here's how long ago 2008 was: the Thunder attempted eight 3-pointers that night. The Thunder made 18 3pointers Sunday.

One more fun fact from that night: Kelenna Azubuike, who won a state title at Victory Christian in Tulsa, led the Warriors with 24 points.

So why was that game important? Because the Thunder, after that 3-29 start, finished the season 20-30. OKC went from a .093 winning percentage before New Year's Eve to a .400 winning percentage from New Year's Eve on.

“We've had a lot of fourth-quarter games,” then Thunder coach Scott Brooks said after the game. “When you're put in that situation constantly, you get better. You find a rhythm. You find a little bit of anger inside your soul and say you're going to keep fighting, we're going to break through. And we've done that.”

The Thunder broke through, all right. From Dec. 31, 2008 to Dec. 31, 2023, the Thunder went 687-506 — a .575 winning percentage.

The 2010s, of course, was the Thunder's golden era. From the start of the 2010 season to the start of the 2020 season, the Thunder went 515-290. That .639 winning percentage ranked second to only the Spurs (.687) in the NBA.

Across the four major U.S. professional sports, only the New England Patriots (.776), Spurs (.687), Washington Capitals (.648), Green Bay Packers (.646), Pittsburgh Steelers (.643) and Pittsburgh Penguins (.643) had a better winning percentage than the Thunder.

Fifteen years after that first New Year's Eve win, the Thunder (.710) is on pace for its best winning percentage since the 2013-14 season.

SARAH PHIPPS Chris Wilcox (54) celebrates a Thunder win against the Golden State Warriors on Dec. 31, 2008, at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City.