October 21 has produced one win in six franchise games, and that win came in Seattle's expansion season. Fifty-nine years later, the defending champions reach the date 1-0, and they still lean on young players the way the early Oklahoma City teams did.
One Win on This Date
On this date in 1967, in the franchise's expansion season, the SuperSonics won 117-110 at San Diego. The franchise has played five more games on October 21 and lost all five, most recently 131-120 to Sacramento in 2018. The 1967 team won with nothing built yet. Oklahoma City reaches the date 1-0 for the opposite reason: nearly everything is already in place.
From 23-59 to First
The first Oklahoma City season opened with a loss to Milwaukee. A 10-game losing streak cost P.J. Carlesimo his job and brought in Scott Brooks, and the team finished 23-59. The way out came through the draft: Kevin Durant in Seattle's final season, Russell Westbrook at fourth overall, and James Harden at third in 2009. By the third season the club had won 55 games and a division title. This group opened Tuesday by leading San Antonio from start to finish, by as many as 26, and it sits first in the West.
The Young Core Costs More Now
The young players showed up in the opener. Jared McCain, 22, scored 20 in 22 minutes on 6-of-8 shooting from three and finished a team-best plus-20. Aday Mara, a rookie, added 7 points in 12 minutes at plus-9. Nikola Topic, 21, and Thomas Sorber, 20, were both upgraded from out on Wednesday, with an estimated return of Thursday against Denver. The big change from 2008 is cost. Payroll stands at $214.8M against a $200.4M tax line, and Cason Wallace just agreed to a five-year, $139MM extension. Oklahoma City owns its first-round picks outright only in 2029 and 2030, so cheap young contracts matter more to sustaining this roster than the picks do.
How did the SuperSonics do on October 21, 1967?
They beat San Diego 117-110 on the road during the expansion 1967-68 season. It is the franchise's only win in six games played on October 21.
Will Nikola Topic and Thomas Sorber play against the Nuggets?
Both were upgraded from out on October 21, and both have an estimated return of October 22, the date of the Denver game.
