Why this year's version of the OKC Thunder might be its best ever.

Leading up to the 2013-14 NBA season, many question marks surrounded the OKC Thunder and whether or not it could be considered a serious contender for the title. Would Russell Westbrook, coming off MCL surgery, return as explosive and aggressive as the RW0 we were used to, and when exactly would he return? How would OKC account for the loss of Kevin Martin? Would his departure leave a void on the Thunder bench?

So many questions, in fact, when it was announced Westbrook might need an additional six weeks to return to the court, sportsbooks in Vegas dropped the Thunder's predicted regular season win total to a mere 50 games, 10 fewer than the 2012-2013 season.

Well, we are now just past the one-quarter mark of the season and many, if not all, of these questions have been answered in a fashion not even the most optimistic of Thunder fans could have hoped for.
At 18-4, OKC is off to its best start since making the move from Seattle, and is on pace to win 67 games -- blowing away its win total from last season. So impressive has OKC's play been through 22 games, it would not be out of the question to forecast this being the best Thunder product in franchise history.

Westbrook has returned and has shown few signs of rust or lingering effects from knee surgery. Save for a slightly disappointing percentage from the free throw line well below his career average, he appears as aggressive as ever, attacking the rim at will as in seasons past.

Of course it goes without saying Kevin Durant continues to impress, showing improvement in court vision we saw flashes of during the 2013 playoffs, averaging nearly five assists while maintaining his traditional scoring pace that has led to three scoring titles in the past four seasons.

Reggie Jackson

As far as the void left behind by Kevin Martin's departure to Minnesota, Reggie Jackson and Jeremy Lamb have more than filled it, averaging an encouraging 21.8 points per game combined off the bench. Jackson, who gained invaluable experience filling in for the injured Westbrook during the playoffs last year, seems destined for a major free agent contract following the 2014-15 season. A fact I'm sure Thunder GM Sam Presti is already very concerned with.



Jeremy Lamb

Meanwhile, Lamb, a major piece exchanged in the James Harden trade, has seen a drastic increase in minutes. Starting off the season, the pressure of becoming the wing scorer the Thunder desperately needed off the bench seemed to take its toll on Lamb who struggled early on. However, during the course of December, Lamb has averaged 10.0 points on 52% shooting and 41% from the three point line. Scott Brooks appears to have noticed, as Lamb has seen a drastic increase in playing time during the fourth quarter over the past few weeks. Most who follow me know I am a big fan of Lamb's, and his play of late is only reinforcing that.

And how about the addition of Steven Adams to OKC's front line? Averaging nearly as many minutes as starting center Kendrick Perkins, Adams, although still very young and raw, seems to be the agile big man with reliable hands the Thunder will need to compete in the West, especially if Presti decides to amnesty Perkins following the season. I don't think it would be far-fetched to speculate this could end up being the best Thunder second unit we've seen. You have the attacker in Jackson, the wing scorer in Lamb, and now the low-post presence in Adams.

Of course, the regular season matters very little anymore to fans in OKC, who have their eyes focused solely on winning the West and returning to, if not winning, the NBA Finals. This will be the true measure of how this team compares to the one that won four in a row against the Spurs en route to the Western Conference title in 2012. Can all these new pieces continue to coalesce and finally get the national media off Presti's back for trading Harden? Could this be the best Thunder we've seen in OKC? Something tells me yes on both accounts.

More good news for downtown OKC.

Yesterday rumors began to circulate the likes of Facebook and Twitter that OPUBCO will be relocating its HQ from its current location on the Broadway Extension back to downtown later this year. While another company moving downtown is excellent news in and of itself the even better news is that OPUBCO will be renovating the eyesore that is Century Center Plaza. Century Center was part of a (failed) urban renewal attempt at a downtown retail/office center decades ago and has sat unoccupied for years.

The property sits on a prime corner of downtown core business district property -- especially now that Devon Energy Center has revitalized this portion of the area. However, its rather boring and aged exterior has dissuaded many would-be tenants from making use of the great location. As you can see in the map below, it takes up a sizeable chunk of the block bounded by Robinson Ave. on the west, Main St. on the north, and Sheridan on the south.

That is all now about to change with Monday's article posted on NewsOK (found here) detailing that OPUBCO will be moving its 350 employees into a renovated Century Center. Here is the rendering of the updated exterior that was posted along with the article:

The new design calls for a completely redesigned glass facade -- removing the decades old concrete that has made downtown'ers shake their heads for years. In addition, two more levels of parking will be added on top of the current parking garage helping alleviate concerns over downtown parking availability. Plans also call for a large video board on the southwest corner as well as a headline restaurant just below with street access.

For sure this is great news not only for OPUBCO employees, but for the continued growth of downtown OKC as well. The building, once renovated, will have the potential to house 500 employees which is approximately the number Continental Resources currently houses in its headquarters downtown. So we aren't talking about small potatoes here. This move will mean even more substantial traffic in the CBD and surely new development in response won't be far behind.

Side note: I'm hearing rumors that OG&E and Continental Resources will both be announcing new HQ construction downtown in the near future.