2008–09 Oklahoma City Thunder season

2008–09 Oklahoma City Thunder season
Head coach	P. J. Carlesimo (games 1–13, fired) Scott Brooks (interim, games 14–82)
General manager	Sam Presti
Owners	Professional Basketball Club LLC
Arena	Ford Center
Results
Record	23–59 (.280)
Place	Division: 5th (Northwest) Conference: 13th (Western)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	KSBI Fox Sports Oklahoma
Radio	WWLS-AM FM

The Oklahoma City Thunder played its inaugural season in the 2008–09 NBA season. It was the team's 1st season in Oklahoma City since the Seattle SuperSonics relocation was approved by league owners prior to settling a lawsuit. The team played at the Ford Center.

Oklahoma City hosted the New Orleans Hornets for two seasons, due to Hurricane Katrina's devastation along the Gulf Coast in August 2005.

Until 2021, this represents the Thunder's last losing season.

Key dates

• June 26: The 2008 NBA draft took place in New York City.
• July 1: The free agency period started.
• July 2: The Seattle SuperSonics announced their immediate relocation to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
• September 3 The team announces name and colors.
• October 8 The Oklahoma City Thunder took the court for the first time in an 88–82^[1] preseason loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Billings, Montana.
• October 29 The Oklahoma City Thunder played their first regular season game ever, hosting the Milwaukee Bucks.
• November 2 The Oklahoma City Thunder get their first win as an NBA franchise.
• November 22 P. J. Carlesimo is fired and replaced on an interim basis by Scott Brooks.
• November 28 The Thunder tie the franchise record for consecutive games lost at 14 with a 103–105 loss to the Timberwolves.
• November 29 Oklahoma City snaps 14-game losing streak.
• January 21 Jeff Green shoots Thunder's first buzzer beater to beat the Golden State Warriors 122–121.
• February 14 Kevin Durant wins All-Star Break H.O.R.S.E competition.
• April 15 The Thunder won over Los Angeles Clippers 126–85 to end 23–59 in their first season.
• April 15 Scott Brooks is named full-time coach of Thunder.

Offseason

• Oklahoma City rookies and other young professionals played in the first game of the Orlando summer league. Oklahoma City lost its summer league opener to the Indiana Pacers rookies by a score of 95–78. Earl Calloway scored 16 points and Andre Emmett had 15 for the Pacers, who scored the game's first eight points and never trailed.^{[citation needed]} Jeff Green took the first shot in Oklahoma City's history and it bounced off the rim 43 seconds after tipoff. The first basket came 2:15 into the first quarter by D.J. White, who was drafted by Detroit, traded to Seattle and played in Oklahoma City.^{[citation needed]}
• The Oklahoma City franchise released its season-ticket prices on Thursday, August 14. The franchise announced that there will be 3,400 seats available at $10 per game.^[2]
  • On average, ticket prices were about 36 per cent higher than they were for the 2007–08 Seattle SuperSonics season. The announcement also stated that the average ticket price would be US$47.51 while Seattle's average ticket price last season was $35.^[2] While last year's NBA average ticket price at $48.83, Oklahoma City's rates below the league average.
  • Season tickets went on sale on Monday, September 8. Chairman Clay Bennett announced that the last of the 13,000 season tickets available were sold on Friday, September 12, and the team started a waiting list for season tickets.^[3]

Pre-season

• The Oklahoma City Thunder made their debut in an 88-82 preseason loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on October 8, 2008.

First pre-season game

KSBI

October 8, 2008

Oklahoma City Thunder 82, Minnesota Timberwolves 88
Scoring by quarter: 13–24, 28–16, 22–20, 19–28
Pts: Damien Wilkins 19 Rebs: Kevin Durant, Johan Petro 7 each Asts: Earl Watson 4		Pts: Rashad McCants 15 Rebs: Al Jefferson 9 Asts: Mike Miller 5

Rimrock Auto Arena, Billings Attendance: 3,817 Referees: Leroy Richardson, David Jones, Eric Dalen

• Kevin Durant took and made the first shot in Oklahoma City history.
• The Thunder had their home debut on October 14, 2008, against the Los Angeles Clippers.^[4]

Draft picks

Main article: 2008 NBA draft

Russell Westbrook

Serge Ibaka

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Club team
1	4	Russell Westbrook	PG	United States	UCLA
1	24	Serge Ibaka	PF	Republic of the Congo  Spain	L'Hospitalet (Spain)
2	32	Walter Sharpe	PF	United States	UAB
2	46	Trent Plaisted	PF	United States	BYU
2	50	DeVon Hardin	C	United States	California
2	56	Sasha Kaun	C	Russia	Kansas
D.J. White was later traded to the SuperSonics via Detroit Pistons

The 2008 NBA Draft was the final time that the Seattle SuperSonics made an NBA Draft appearance, as well as the final time that the SuperSonics appeared in official media publications. In early July, the franchise relocated to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and was renamed the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder made their first NBA Draft appearance in 2009.^[5]

Roster

2008–09 Oklahoma City Thunder roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From PG 8 Chucky Atkins 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 1974-08-14 South Florida C 4 Nick Collison 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1980-10-26 Kansas SF 35 Kevin Durant 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1988-09-29 Texas PF 22 Jeff Green 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1986-08-28 Georgetown PF 51 Steven Hill 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 248 lb (112 kg) 1985-11-14 Arkansas C 12 Nenad Krstić 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1983-07-25 Serbia PG 14 Shaun Livingston 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 182 lb (83 kg) 1985-09-11 Peoria Central HS (IL) SG 34 Desmond Mason 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 224 lb (102 kg) 1977-10-11 Oklahoma State PF 9 Malik Rose 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1974-11-23 Drexel SG 2 Thabo Sefolosha 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1984-05-02 Switzerland C 31 Robert Swift 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1985-12-03 Bakersfield HS (CA) PG 25 Earl Watson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1979-06-12 UCLA SG 5 Kyle Weaver 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 201 lb (91 kg) 1986-02-18 Washington State PG 0 Russell Westbrook 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 1988-11-12 UCLA PF 3 D. J. White 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 251 lb (114 kg) 1986-08-31 Indiana C 54 Chris Wilcox 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 221 lb (100 kg) 1982-09-03 Maryland SG 21 Damien Wilkins 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1980-01-11 Georgia

Head coach P. J. Carlesimo (fired) Scott Brooks Assistant(s) Mark Bryant Ralph Lewis Paul Westhead Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Updated: April 4, 2009

Regular season

The Ford Center, which seats 19,599 for basketball, was built in 2002 and has received public funding for renovation.^[6]

Standings

Northwest Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div	GP
y–Denver Nuggets	54	28	.659	—	33–8	21–20	12–4	82
x–Portland Trail Blazers	54	28	.659	—	34–7	20–21	11–5	82
x–Utah Jazz	48	34	.585	6	33–8	15–26	10–6	82
Minnesota Timberwolves	24	58	.293	30	11–30	13–28	3–13	82
Oklahoma City Thunder	23	59	.280	31	15–26	8–33	4–12	82

#	Western Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Los Angeles Lakers	65	17	.793	—
2	y-Denver Nuggets	54	28	.659	11
3	y-San Antonio Spurs	54	28	.659	11
4	x-Portland Trail Blazers	54	28	.659	11
5	x-Houston Rockets	53	29	.646	12
6	x-Dallas Mavericks	50	32	.610	15
7	x-New Orleans Hornets	49	33	.598	16
8	x-Utah Jazz	48	34	.585	17
9	Phoenix Suns	46	36	.561	19
10	Golden State Warriors	29	53	.354	36
11	Minnesota Timberwolves	24	58	.293	41
12	Memphis Grizzlies	24	58	.293	41
13	Oklahoma City Thunder	23	59	.280	42
14	Los Angeles Clippers	19	63	.232	46
15	Sacramento Kings	17	65	.207	48

Game log

2008–09 game log
October: 0–1 (home: 0–1; road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 October 29 Milwaukee L 87–98 Russell Westbrook, Chris Wilcox (13) Nick Collison, Chris Wilcox (6) Russell Westbrook, Earl Watson (4) Ford Center 19,136 0–1
November: 2–15 (home: 1–8; road: 1–7) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 2 November 1 @ Houston L 77–89 Kevin Durant (26) Johan Petro (9) Earl Watson (8) Toyota Center 16,996 0–2 3 November 2 Minnesota W 88–85 Kevin Durant (18) Nick Collison (10) Earl Watson (4) Ford Center 18,163 1–2 4 November 5 Boston L 83–96 Kevin Durant (17) Chris Wilcox (8) Earl Watson (5) Ford Center 19,136 1–3 5 November 7 @ Utah L 97–104 Kevin Durant (24) Nick Collison, Joe Smith, Chris Wilcox (6) Kevin Durant, Earl Watson (3) EnergySolutions Arena 19,911 1–4 6 November 9 Atlanta L 85–89 Kevin Durant (20) Joe Smith (9) Earl Watson (6) Ford Center 18,231 1–5 7 November 10 @ Indiana L 99–107 Kevin Durant (37) Kevin Durant, Nick Collison, Johan Petro (8) Earl Watson (9) Conseco Fieldhouse 10,165 1–6 8 November 12 Orlando L 92–109 Jeff Green (25) Jeff Green (10) Earl Watson (8) Ford Center 18,185 1–7 9 November 14 @ New York L 106–116 Kevin Durant (23) Robert Swift (13) Earl Watson (8) Madison Square Garden 18,008 1–8 10 November 15 @ Philadelphia L 85–110 Jeff Green (21) Johan Petro (12) Jeff Green, Russell Westbrook (4) Wachovia Center 13,385 1–9 11 November 17 Houston L 89–100 Kevin Durant (29) Robert Swift, Johan Petro (8) Kevin Durant, Earl Watson (4) Ford Center 18,145 1–10 12 November 19 L.A. Clippers L 88–108 Kevin Durant (18) Joe Smith (7) Earl Watson (5) Ford Center 18,312 1–11 13 November 21 New Orleans L 80–105 Kevin Durant (17) Nick Collison (13) Earl Watson (4) Ford Center 19,136 1–12 14 November 22 @ New Orleans L 97–109 Kevin Durant (30) Chris Wilcox (10) Russell Westbrook (11) New Orleans Arena 16,023 1–13 15 November 25 Phoenix L 98–99 Kevin Durant (29) Chris Wilcox, Jeff Green, Earl Watson, Joe Smith (6) Earl Watson (13) Ford Center 19,136 1–14 16 November 26 @ Cleveland L 82–117 Chris Wilcox (14) Chris Wilcox, Nick Collison (5) Russell Westbrook, Kyle Weaver (5) Quicken Loans Arena 19,753 1–15 17 November 28 Minnesota L 103–105 Kevin Durant, Jeff Green (22) Chris Wilcox (7) Russell Westbrook (8) Ford Center 18,229 1–16 18 November 29 @ Memphis W 111–103 Kevin Durant (30) Kevin Durant (7) Earl Watson (7) FedExForum 11,977 2–16
December: 2–13 (home: 2–5; road: 0–8) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 19 December 3 @ Charlotte L 97–103 Kevin Durant (24) Jeff Green (6) Earl Watson (11) Time Warner Cable Arena 11,629 2–17 20 December 5 @ Orlando L 89–98 Russell Westbrook (19) Kevin Durant (10) Russell Westbrook (5) Amway Arena 16,812 2–18 21 December 6 @ Miami L 99–105 Russell Westbrook (30) Jeff Green (9) Earl Watson (12) American Airlines Arena 17,585 2–19 22 December 8 Golden State L 102–112 Kevin Durant (41) Kevin Durant, Nick Collison (10) Russell Westbrook, Earl Watson (7) Ford Center 17,854 2–20 23 December 10 Memphis L 102–108 Kevin Durant (28) Nick Collison (8) Earl Watson (7) Ford Center 18,009 2–21 24 December 13 @ Dallas L 99–103 Jeff Green (25) Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Nick Collison (8) Russell Westbrook, Earl Watson (6) American Airlines Center 20,190 2–22 25 December 14 @ San Antonio L 104–109 Jeff Green (33) Kevin Durant (13) Nick Collison (5) AT&T Center 17,419 2–23 26 December 16 L.A. Clippers L 88–98 Kevin Durant (25) Russell Westbrook, Desmond Mason (7) Earl Watson (12) Ford Center 18,275 2–24 27 December 19 Toronto W 91–83 Kevin Durant (26) Desmond Mason (10) Russell Westbrook (8) Ford Center 18,806 3–24 28 December 21 Cleveland L 91–102 Kevin Durant (26) Jeff Green (10) Russell Westbrook (11) Ford Center 19,136 3–25 29 December 23 @ Atlanta L 88–99 Kevin Durant (28) Jeff Green (14) Earl Watson (7) Philips Arena 12,138 3–26 30 December 26 @ Detroit L 88–90 Kevin Durant (26) Joe Smith (10) Earl Watson (6) The Palace of Auburn Hills 22,076 3–27 31 December 27 @ Washington L 95–104 Kevin Durant (25) Kevin Durant (11) Earl Watson (6) Verizon Center 16,181 3–28 32 December 29 Phoenix L 102–110 Russell Westbrook (31) Jeff Green (11) Russell Westbrook (5) Ford Center 19,136 3–29 33 December 31 Golden State W 107–100 Jeff Green (26) Kevin Durant (10) Kevin Durant, Earl Watson (6) Ford Center 18,229 4–29
January: 7–7 (home: 5–3; road: 2–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 34 January 2 Denver L 120–122 Kevin Durant (33) Kevin Durant (9) Earl Watson (7) Ford Center 18,613 4–30 35 January 6 New York W 107–99 Kevin Durant, Jeff Green (27) Kevin Durant (12) Russell Westbrook (9) Ford Center 18,487 5–30 36 January 7 @ Minnesota L 87–129 Nick Collison (17) Nick Collison (10) Russell Westbrook (12) Target Center 10,272 5–31 37 January 9 Houston L 96–98 Kevin Durant (27) Nick Collison (10) Russell Westbrook (6) Ford Center 19,136 5–32 38 January 10 @ Chicago W 109–98 (OT) Kevin Durant (28) Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Russell Westbrook (12) Earl Watson (11) United Center 20,469 6–32 39 January 12 @ New Jersey L 99–103 (OT) Kevin Durant (26) Jeff Green (10) Earl Watson (9) Izod Center 12,972 6–33 40 January 14 Utah W 114–93 Jeff Green (23) Nenad Krstić, Nick Collison (11) Russell Westbrook (7) Ford Center 18,437 7–33 41 January 16 Detroit W 89–79 Kevin Durant (32) Jeff Green (14) Russell Westbrook (6) Ford Center 19,136 8–33 42 January 18 Miami L 94–104 Kevin Durant (31) Russell Westbrook (8) Earl Watson (6) Ford Center 19,136 8–34 43 January 21 @ Golden State W 122–121 Russell Westbrook (30) Kevin Durant (12) Russell Westbrook (7) Oracle Arena 19,318 9–34 44 January 23 @ L.A. Clippers L 104–107 Kevin Durant (46) Kevin Durant (15) Kyle Weaver (5) Staples Center 14,913 9–35 45 January 26 New Jersey W 94–85 Kevin Durant (18) Chris Wilcox (9) Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook (4) Ford Center 18,264 10–35 46 January 28 Memphis W 114–102 (OT) Kevin Durant (35) Kevin Durant (10) Kevin Durant (6) Ford Center 18,450 11–35 47 January 30 @ Utah L 90–110 Kevin Durant (29) Kevin Durant (10) Kevin Durant, Earl Watson (4) EnergySolutions Arena 19,911 11–36
February: 3–9 (home: 2–3; road: 1–6) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 48 February 1 @ Sacramento L 118–122 (OT) Russell Westbrook (34) Nick Collison (14) Russell Westbrook (8) ARCO Arena 10,817 11–37 49 February 4 Denver L 113–114 Kevin Durant (31) Kevin Durant, Nick Collison (8) Earl Watson (8) Ford Center 18,332 11–38 50 February 6 Portland W 102–93 Kevin Durant (31) Nick Collison (13) Earl Watson (11) Ford Center 18,694 12–38 51 February 8 Sacramento W 116–113 Kevin Durant (39) Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Russell Westbrook (7) Russell Westbrook (8) Ford Center 18,271 13–38 52 February 10 @ L.A. Lakers L 98–105 Kevin Durant (31) Kevin Durant (10) Russell Westbrook (7) Staples Center 18,997 13–39 53 February 11 @ Portland L 92–106 Russell Westbrook (21) Russell Westbrook (12) Earl Watson (5) Rose Garden 20,050 13–40 54 February 17 New Orleans L 98–100 Kevin Durant (47) Nenad Krstić (10) Earl Watson (7) Ford Center 18,593 13–41 55 February 20 @ Phoenix L 118–140 Kevin Durant (35) Jeff Green (14) Russell Westbrook (8) US Airways Center 18,422 13–42 56 February 21 @ Golden State L 120–133 Kevin Durant (32) Jeff Green (15) Russell Westbrook (11) Oracle Arena 19,108 13–43 57 February 24 L.A. Lakers L 93–107 Kevin Durant (32) Nenad Krstić (11) Kevin Durant (6) Ford Center 19,136 13–44 58 February 27 @ Dallas L 108–110 (OT) Russell Westbrook (33) Jeff Green (12) Earl Watson (11) American Airlines Center 20,007 13–45 59 February 28 @ Memphis W 99–92 Jeff Green (27) Thabo Sefolosha (11) Russell Westbrook (7) FedExForum 10,074 14–45
March: 7–8 (home: 4–3; road: 3–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 60 March 2 Dallas W 96–87 Nenad Krstić (26) Russell Westbrook (10) Russell Westbrook (10) Ford Center 18,527 15–45 61 March 4 Washington W 88–83 Nenad Krstić (18) Nick Collison (10) Russell Westbrook (8) Ford Center 18,576 16–45 62 March 7 @ New Orleans L 90–108 Russell Westbrook (24) Nick Collison (8) Malik Rose (5) New Orleans Arena 18,114 16–46 63 March 8 Philadelphia W 89–74 Nenad Krstić (20) Nick Collison (11) Russell Westbrook (5) Ford Center 18,738 17–46 64 March 10 @ Sacramento W 99–98 Jeff Green, Russell Westbrook (22) Nenad Krstić (15) Russell Westbrook (4) ARCO Arena 10,784 18–46 65 March 11 @ Denver L 99–112 Jeff Green (19) Thabo Sefolosha (9) Earl Watson (7) Pepsi Center 16,186 18–47 66 March 14 @ Phoenix L 95–106 Kevin Durant (22) Jeff Green (10) Russell Westbrook (7) US Airways Center 18,422 18–48 67 March 16 San Antonio W 78–76 Kevin Durant (25) Nick Collison (10) Chucky Atkins (3) Ford Center 19,136 19–48 68 March 18 Chicago L 96–103 Kevin Durant (28) Nick Collison (13) Russell Westbrook (6) Ford Center 19,136 19–49 69 March 20 Utah L 94–101 Kevin Durant (24) Kevin Durant (12) Kevin Durant (5) Ford Center 19,136 19–50 70 March 22 @ Minnesota W 97–90 Kevin Durant (30) Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook (8) Russell Westbrook (10) Target Center 18,561 20–50 71 March 24 L.A. Lakers L 89–107 Kevin Durant (24) Nick Collison (8) Russell Westbrook (6) Ford Center 19,136 20–51 72 March 27 @ Toronto L 96–112 Nick Collison (21) Nick Collison, Thabo Sefolosha (7) Russell Westbrook (5) Air Canada Centre 17,127 20–52 73 March 29 @ Boston L 84–103 Russell Westbrook (23) Jeff Green (9) Kyle Weaver (7) TD Banknorth Garden 18,624 20–53 74 March 31 @ San Antonio W 96–95 Kevin Durant (31) Kevin Durant, Nenad Krstić (8) Russell Westbrook (10) AT&T Center 18,797 21–53
April: 2–6 (home: 1–3; road: 1–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 75 April 3 Portland L 72–107 Kevin Durant (13) Russell Westbrook (8) Chucky Atkins, Russell Westbrook (4) Ford Center 19,136 21–54 76 April 5 Indiana L 99–117 Kevin Durant (25) Shaun Livingston, Russell Westbrook (7) Shaun Livingston (5) Ford Center 19,136 21–55 77 April 7 San Antonio L 89–99 Kevin Durant (24) Thabo Sefolosha (9) Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook (6) Ford Center 19,136 21–56 78 April 8 @ Denver L 112–122 Kevin Durant (31) Kevin Durant (7) Russell Westbrook (11) Pepsi Center 16,536 21–57 79 April 10 Charlotte W 84–81 Kevin Durant (20) Jeff Green (11) Russell Westbrook (11) Ford Center 19,136 22–57 80 April 11 @ Milwaukee L 98–115 Kevin Durant (19) Kyle Weaver (9) Earl Watson (7) Bradley Center 15,418 22–58 81 April 13 @ Portland L 83–113 Earl Watson (16) Nenad Krstić (7) Russell Westbrook (7) Rose Garden 20,655 22–59 82 April 15 @ L.A. Clippers W 126–85 Kevin Durant (26) D. J. White (11) Earl Watson (14) Staples Center 19,060 23–59
2008–09 season schedule

Player statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Season

Oklahoma City Thunder statistics

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Chucky Atkins*	18	0	16.6	.291	.250	.917	1.0	1.7	0.4	0.1	3.9
Nick Collison	71	40	25.8	.568	.000	.721	6.9	0.9	0.7	0.7	8.2
Kevin Durant	74	74	39.0	.476	.422	.863	6.5	2.8	1.3	0.7	25.3
Jeff Green	78	78	36.8	.446	.389	.788	6.7	2.0	1.0	0.4	16.5
Steven Hill	1	0	2.0	1.000	.000	.000	3.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.0
Nenad Krstić	46	29	24.8	.469	.000	.797	5.5	0.6	0.5	1.1	9.7
Shaun Livingston	8	1	23.8	.538	.000	1.000	3.3	2.0	0.6	0.3	7.8
Desmond Mason*	39	19	27.3	.435	.000	.541	4.0	1.2	0.4	0.8	7.5
Johan Petro*	22	12	15.5	.407	.000	.667	4.3	0.3	0.7	0.2	4.6
Malik Rose*	20	0	15.7	.378	.000	.800	3.3	1.3	0.5	0.1	5.0
Thabo Sefolosha*	23	22	31.1	.417	.243	.833	5.2	2.0	1.7	1.1	8.5
Mouhamed Sene*	5	0	4.6	.714	.000	.778	1.8	0.0	0.2	0.4	3.4
Joe Smith*	36	3	19.2	.454	.500	.704	4.5	0.7	0.3	0.7	6.6
Robert Swift	26	10	13.2	.521	.000	.750	3.4	0.3	0.2	0.7	3.3
Earl Watson	68	18	26.1	.384	.235	.755	2.7	5.8	0.7	0.2	6.6
Kyle Weaver	56	19	20.8	.459	.344	.707	2.3	1.8	0.8	0.4	5.3
Russell Westbrook	82	65	32.5	.398	.271	.815	4.9	5.3	1.3	0.2	15.3
D. J. White	7	0	18.6	.520	.000	.769	4.6	0.9	0.4	0.7	8.9
Chris Wilcox*	37	6	19.4	.485	.000	.598	5.3	0.9	0.5	0.3	8.4
Damien Wilkins	41	14	15.5	.362	.375	.804	1.7	0.9	0.5	0.2	5.3

* Statistics with Oklahoma City.

Awards and records

Awards

Week/Month

• Russell Westbrook was named Western Conference rookie of the month in December and February.^[7][8]

All-Star

• Russell Westbrook, Jeff Green and Kevin Durant played in the Rookie Challenge, where Durant was named MVP.
• Kevin Durant won the H–O–R–S–E Competition.

Season

• Russell Westbrook was selected to the All-Rookie 1st team.

Records

Transactions

Main article: List of 2008–09 NBA season transactions

Overview

Players Added Via draft Russell Westbrook Via trade Desmond Mason Joe Smith Kyle Weaver (Draft rights) D.J. White (Draft rights)

Players Lost Via trade Adrian Griffin Luke Ridnour Via free agency Ronald Dupree Francisco Elson Mickaël Gelabale Waived Donyell Marshall

Trades

July 5, 2008[9]	To Seattle SuperSonics D.J. White	To Detroit Pistons Walter Sharpe Trent Plaisted
August 11, 2008[10]	To Oklahoma City Thunder Kyle Weaver	To Charlotte Bobcats 2009 second-round pick
August 13, 2008[11]	To Oklahoma City Thunder Desmond Mason via MIL Joe Smith via CLE	To Milwaukee Bucks Adrian Griffin via OKC Luke Ridnour via OKC Damon Jones via CLE
	To Cleveland Cavaliers Mo Williams via MIL
January 7, 2009[12]	To Oklahoma City Thunder Chucky Atkins 2009 first-round pick	To Denver Nuggets Johan Petro 2009 second-round pick
February 19, 2009[13]	To Oklahoma City Thunder Thabo Sefolosha	To Chicago Bulls 2009 first-round pick
February 19, 2009[14]	To Oklahoma City Thunder Malik Rose	To New York Knicks Chris Wilcox

Free agency

Re-signed

Date	Player	Contract
September 11, 2008	Robert Swift[15]	Standard

Additions

Date	Player	Contract	Former team
November 4, 2008	Steven Hill[16]	Standard	Arkansas Razorbacks
December 31, 2008	Nenad Krstic[17]	Multi-Year Contract	New Jersey Nets Triumph Lyubertsy
March 31, 2009	Shaun Livingston[18]	Multi-Year Contract	Tulsa 66ers (D-League)

Subtractions

Date	Player	Reason left	New team
July 1, 2008	Mickaël Gelabale	Free Agency	Los Angeles D-Fenders (D-League)
August 20, 2008	Donyell Marshall[19]	Waived	Philadelphia 76ers
September 9, 2008	Francisco Elson	Free Agency	Milwaukee Bucks
December 3, 2008	Ronald Dupree[20]	Free Agency	Tulsa 66ers
December 30, 2008	Steven Hill[17]	Waived	Tulsa 66ers (D-League)
February 19, 2009	Mouhamed Sene[13]	Waived	Albuquerque Thunderbirds (D-League)

See also

• Seattle SuperSonics relocation to Oklahoma City
• 2008–09 NBA season

References

1. Sites, Phil (October 8, 2008). "T'Wolves Play Spoiler". Billings Gazette. Retrieved October 9, 2008.^{[dead link‍]}
2. "CANOE -- SLAM! Sports - Basketball - NBA: NBA season-ticket prices set for Oklahoma City". Archived from the original on September 16, 2008. Retrieved August 16, 2008.
3. "Waiting list begun for Oklahoma City season tickets". ESPN. Associated Press. September 13, 2008. Archived from the original on September 15, 2008. Retrieved September 13, 2008.
4. Oklahoma City NBA team to face hectic pace in preseason
5. Pian Chan, Sharon (July 2, 2008). "Sonics, city reach settlement". Seattle Times. Archived from the original on July 3, 2008. Retrieved July 2, 2008.
6. "Ford Center / Oklahoma City, Oklahoma". Arena Digest. March 2008. Archived from the original on May 12, 2008. Retrieved May 5, 2008.
7. Bulls' Rose, Thunder's Westbrook named Rookies of the Month Archived January 15, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, NBA.com, January 2, 2009.
8. Nets' Lopez, Thunder's Westbrook named Rookies of the Month Archived March 6, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, NBA.com, March 2, 2009.
9. "Westbrook, White sign rookie deals with SuperSonics". espn.com. July 5, 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
10. "Bobcats trade G Weaver to Oklahoma City for pick". espn.com. August 11, 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
11. "Cavaliers Acquire Williams in Three-Team Trade". nba.com. August 13, 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
12. "Nuggets get another big man in Petro". espn.com. August 11, 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
13. "Thunder Acquires Thabo Sefolosha". nba.com. February 19, 2009. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
14. "Knicks swap Rose for Wilcox". espn.com. February 19, 2009. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
15. "Oklahoma City Re-Signs Swift". basketball.realgm.com. September 11, 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
16. "Thunder signs 7-foot center Hill". espn.com. November 4, 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
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