Team USA Brings A Thunderous Trio

Members of the Oklahoma City Thunder make up one quarter of Team USA Basketball for the 2012 Olympic games in London.  Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden all look to shine as part of the 12-man team. This young trio could be the most dominant in the NBA.

Durant is the group’s headline act. He was drafted out of Texas in 2007. After becoming the youngest player ever to lead the NBA in scoring in 2010, Durant has continued to excel, winning the scoring title two more times. At 6’ 10” Durant boasts the ability to get a shot off whenever he wants. More importantly, he usually makes it. It’s easy to see how a player of this caliber can be an All-NBA performer three times at age 23.

One year after Durant came into the league, the then-Seattle Supersonics drafted Russell Westbrook. The team moved to Oklahoma City just six days later.  Westbrook displayed tremendous athleticism at UCLA for two seasons and quickly translated to the NBA. As much as Kevin Durant can score whenever he needs, Westbrook can fill up the stat sheet. He joins Chris Paul, LeBron James, Anfernee Hardaway, and Oscar Robertson as the only five players ever to have chalked up 4,000 points, 1,500 assists, and 1,000 rebounds in just three NBA seasons.

Finally, in 2009 the draft success for the Thunder franchise continued when they selected James Harden third overall. Harden is easy to find on the court with a beard that has taken on a likeness of its own. Harden’s beard is so nostalgic that it even has it’s own twitter account. This bearded wonder brings much more to the court than  fanfare and publicity. Harden was the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year in 2012 and played his way on to the Olympic team.

The Thunder came up just short on their quest for an NBA title, but it certainly wasn’t for lack of star power. With this dominant trio all under age 24 suited up for the red, white, and blue, things look good for Team USA. When it’s all said and done, Durant may feel left out because unlike Westbrook’s UCLA Bruins  or Harden’s Arizona State Sun Devils, there’s no gold in the Texas Longhorn uniform to match the medal they hope to soon wear.