The Oklahoma City Thunder parted ways with coach Scott Brooks on Wednesday just days after the conclusion of a 45–37 season that ended short of the playoffs—their first non-playoff season since 2009, which was Brooks’s first season on the bench.
In between, Brooks’s Thunder made plenty of noise (pun not intended) in making the playoffs five straight years, yet were unable to bring home the coveted Larry O'Brien Trophy as NBA champions. Of course, in four of those five seasons Oklahoma City bowed out to the eventual champs, with the lone exception being 2013, when the Grizzlies downed the Thunder in five.
Overall, the 49-year-old won an impressive 62 percent of his games over a seven-year period, though this year’s team fell short of expectations because of numerous injuries to star players, beginning with reigning MVP Kevin Durant.
The four-time scoring champ Durant missed 55 of a possible 82 games due to a myriad of foot problems, and his absence was certainly noticeable. The Thunder went 18–9 with him, and just 27–28 without him.
Meanwhile his All-Star running mate Russell Westbrook, who had a remarkable year as the focal point of the offense averaging career-highs in points (28.1), rebounds (7.3), and assists (8.6), missed 15 games himself with hand and face injuries—the second straight season he’s missed a good chunk of time.
Finally, power forward Serge Ibaka, second in the league in blocked shots at 2.4 per game, missed the final 18 games with a knee injury.
Yet, despite their three best players missing 86 games in total, the Thunder weren’t eliminated from the playoffs until the final day of the regular season.
