During the 2012 NBA Finals , sportswriter Bill Simmons published a piece on the team 's fan base in his ESPN-sponsored Web outlet , ''Grantland.com '' , in which he noted the unusual enthusiasm of the city for its team : Simmons speculated that the Oklahoma City bombing played a major part in the team 's culture , noting that Thunder general manager Sam Presti has every new Thunder player visit the Oklahoma City National Memorial , and encourages players to look into the stands and consider that many of the team 's fans were personally affected by the event . He also noted , however , that the fact that the Thunder is the only team from Oklahoma City ( or indeed the state of Oklahoma ) in one of the nation 's four major leagues contributes mightily to the city 's devotion
Oklahoma City bombing
Oklahoma City bombing
Oklahoma City Thunder