Part-Time Lover

Somewhere along the way, the Oklahoma City Thunder became every NBA fan’s mistress. We have and hold our respective teams in injury and in health, in good times and bad, until death do us part, but even the truest of die-hards have been known to flirt with League Pass now and again. It’s nothing major. Just to see what else is out there. Just to pass the time when our teams are away on business. It doesn’t mean anything, we tell ourselves.

But it means everything. NBA fans have wandering eyes, and the Thunder ooze sex appeal. We can try our best to explain away the Thunder’s allure, but there is genuine meaning in it.

Kevin Durant is the obvious draw. Not only is he a phenomenal All-World scorer with a rapidly improving all-around game, but his on-court demeanor and obsessive hunger for all things basketball blend together beautifully. His feet are planted firmly on the ground, even as he reaches higher and higher with his trademarked, absurdly long arms. The man simply loves what he does and works hard to improve himself, and that’s endearing. That he happens to already be an incredible player while maintaining that hunger is what elevates him to cult favorite and Wheaties box role model.

Of course, Durant is but one reason why the Thunder have captivated NBA audiences. They’re young and new, and like it or not, hip. They’re athletic and dynamic, from Russell Westbrook’s jams to Serge Ibaka’s swats. Their success is somehow bizarre, improbable, and yet all part of the plan. They’re 50-win underdogs, tightly knit with an old-school, one-goal fabric, but envisioned with modern basketball sensibilities. There is, really and truly, nothing quite like the Thunder.

There’s also nothing quite like Kevin Durant’s other team. The one that won’t make your steadfast commitment as an NBA fan the least bit confusing. The one that’s playing right now, in the stretch of the off-season that’s most barren.

They’re young. They’re athletic. They’re hungry and humble. They’re incredibly talented even if they’re in a bit over their heads. They are wholly committed to playing great defense, and above all, they have Durant to lead them. There is, really and truly, nothing quite like Team USA either, and if one were forced to conjure the most natural team comparison? It just might be Oklahoma City.

But even though the national squad may bear the country’s name on their unis, the Thunder are America’s Team. For some reason, Team USA has yet to really grab hold of the basketball nation’s attention, despite the oddly fascinating collection of players and the highly competitive field at the FIBA World Championships.

What is it that basketball fans want, exactly? What makes the Thunder so special when Team USA, despite taking two of OKC’s players and so many of its components, can’t find widespread appeal with a nearly identical formula? Are we really to believe that Derrick Rose and Andre Iguodala are less riveting as basketball talents than Jeff Green and James Harden? Is it simply the nature of the World Championships to have a team like this one fly under the radar?

Regardless, this year’s Team USA has been given a rather ho-hum treatment thus far, despite carrying with them the same underdog appeal that people value in the Thunder. Smart writers the NBA world over have told you that while the Americans have the most talent on their roster, Spain should be considered the tournament favorite. They are the likely champions. Yet while the Thunder’s relative standing is a substantial part of their charm, Team USA gets no benefit from a similar underdog aura.

I think ultimately, what separates OKC from USA is an issue of ownership, and what that ownership signifies. There’s no question that Oklahoma City owns the Thunder. They proved that at every home game last season, as Durant and company benefited from one of the most insanely supportive home arenas in the league:

At least a part of the Thunder’s widespread appeal is the understandable desire to be a part of that. That, ladies and gents, is a truly special fan base, going absolutely bonkers for an interesting team playing meaningful games.

That hearth of basketball fandom in Oklahoma City is an affirmation: an affirmation of the dedication of the players and the Thunder organization. Team USA, for whatever reason, isn’t perceived to have that same level of dedication. Nevermind that Mike Krzyzewski and Jerry Colangelo have worked hard to make the USA Basketball program as consistent as possible. Nevermind that stars like Kevin Durant have said how badly they want to win, and how much that means coming straight from the Durantula’s mouth. Nevermind that this year’s team came to work, put in the time, and prepared for the challenges ahead.

Apparently none of that matters. As a result, not only does Team USA face questions over the team’s intrigue and the games’ meaning, but they lack that dedicated fan base. They lack ownership. There’s nothing to want to be a part of, because the national team has no dedicated following. They technically belong to all Americans — or even anyone who chooses to actively root for this collection of NBA players, if you’d like to take it that far — but the diffusion of that ownership over such a huge number of supposed “fans,” combined with disappointment over the lack of top-tier NBA talent, and a misunderstanding of the value of the World Championships makes Team USA more of a passing thought for the average NBA fan than anything significant.

Team USA has failed to intrigue basketball fans because of an assumed lack of effort and interest. Events like the World Championships, which don’t have the benefit of the Olympic marketing machine, then become uninteresting by association. So begins the vicious cycle, whereby international competition is uninteresting because Team USA is disinterested, and Team USA is disinterested because the competition itself must somehow be uninteresting. But before things get too out of control, consider the following: If Team USA is no longer disinterested, the team is as charismatic and likable as ever in spite of its limitations, and the World Championship field is saturated with top-notch international talent, where does that leave us?

It leaves us on Friday, August 27, 2010 — the eve of the FIBA World Championships. Cling to your contradictory love of the Thunder and indifference toward Team USA if you will, but starting tomorrow, an invested and engaged USA squad will begin to hold court against some of the top national teams in the world. Team USA won’t be around forever, and they’re not looking for much. Just a little love. Just a little attention. Just to be your summer fling on the side, until you go back home in October.

It doesn’t have to mean anything to you, but it could mean everything for them.

Oster-Tags: 2010 FIBA World Championships, americafyeah, cantgettoomuchdurantula, letsgetiton, seriouslyIlovethethundertoobutthisisteamusayall, Team USA