Damian Lillard’s shot created a ripple effect in the NBA (Image: GETTY)
The Portland Trail Blazers and the Thunder were tied 115-115 going into the final seconds of the game back in April of this year.
But with the ball in Lillard’s hands, he had the chance to send the Thunder home in the first round of the 2018 NBA Play-Offs, and he took his opportunity with one of the most incredible shots in recent history.
Shooting from distance over the head of Paul George, he not only ended the Thunder’s season, but also ended PG’s time in Oklahoma City.
Whilst the Trail Blazers would go on to be defeated by Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors in the second round of the playoffs, the Thunder were left in a difficult position.
Having managed to tie down George to a long-term contract in 2018 in light of heavy interest from the Los Angeles Lakers, they were now facing the harsh reality of having gone another year without a ring.
Ten years ago, their roster boasted three of the best players in the world, with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden as their ‘Big Three’.
Despite going to the 2012 NBA Finals, they were beaten by LeBron James and his superstar-filled Miami Heat.
As a result, Harden was traded to the Houston Rockets, leaving a frosty pairing of Westbrook and Durant, a relationship which soured and broke apart – as it seemed at the time – to irreparable levels when Durant cut ties and moved out to the Warriors.
Damian Lillard’s shot over Paul George ended PG13’s time in OKC (Image: GETTY)
The Thunder were in the same spot as they had found themselves in so many times in the past, with a strong team, but underwhelming results on the court.
The worst was yet to come, however. With free agency looming, fans were desperate to hear where NBA champion Kawhi Leonard would end up playing next year.
Having been linked to the Lakers, the LA Clippers and the Toronto Raptors, fans went so far as to follow his flights online in order to get an inkling of where he would end up.
Few saw his eventual move coming, as it was announced on July 6 that Leonard would be signing with the Clippers, but not alone. It emerged that George had requested a trade to the Clippers to join the silent superstar in LA, and the Thunder had granted this wish after being given an unprecedented haul of draft picks.
Kawhi Leonard told Steve Ballmer he wanted to play with Paul George (Image: GETTY)
The Thunder received Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, five first-round draft picks, and the rights to swap two other first-round picks in exchange for the six-time NBA All-Star.
Speaking to the Los Angeles Times, Clippers head coach Doc Rivers explained that he had to talk franchise owner Steve Ballmer into the trade, as the Microsoft Guru was tentative about giving up such a selection of future players.
In effect, he was gambling the team’s future for the chance to win now, and win in a big way. But Rivers explained that he had sold the idea to Ballmer by reassuring him that it wasn’t actually as big as it seemed.
“Steve Ballmer was nervous about the picks,” he admitted.
James Harden and Russell Westbrook are now together in Houston after starting the decade at OKC (Image: GETTY)
“I said to him ‘Steve, you keep saying six picks for Paul George is insane, but you’re saying it wrong. It’s not six for Paul, it’s six for Paul and Kawhi. So three for each. I would do that.’ You have to look at it in those terms.” In reality, the Clippers had to go for Paul George and give up the draft picks.
According to the same report from the Los Angeles Times, Leonard had sat down for his first meeting with Rivers and Ballmer and told them that if they didn’t improve their team, he would go elsewhere. It seems that the Lakers were the next most viable option.
Such was Rivers’ desperation to sign Leonard, he even joked with Ballmer that he should move the team to Seattle if they lost out to their cross-arena rivals.
Whilst this was an over-reaction, like a child threatening to take their ball home because they’re not getting things their own way, but it shows how badly the Clippers wanted to get one over on the Lakers.
OKC started the decade with James Harden, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook (Image: GETTY)
Not only did the Clippers want George, so did Leonard. The player dubbed ‘Board Man’ was apparently given a list of players that the Clippers believed they could acquire, but stopped them short once he heard PG13’s name.
Rivers explained: “We just showed him guys that we thought would match him and when he saw Paul George’s name he said – ‘I want to play with him’. We showed him everybody else and he didn’t want to hear it, he just stayed on Paul George.”
The Lakers were still keen on Leonard, having missed out on George a year earlier when they tried to sign him in free agency, a move many believed to be inevitable. However, once George’s trade request was submitted, there was only ever going to be one destination, and it was the Clippers. But the move didn’t just impact the Lakers and Clippers.
The Thunder, who were left with a handful of draft picks, decided to push the detonate button on their franchise, trading away Russell Westbrook to the Houston Rockets for a reunion with his old teammate, former NBA MVP James Harden.
A decade which had started with the Thunder boasting three of the best players in the world had ended with a handful of draft picks and no NBA Championship rings.
So, what did the Lillard shot mean?
The Thunder decided to go for an almost-entire roster rebuild and trade away Westbrook and George, with Chris Paul left as arguably their franchise player – now also rumoured to be a trade asset.
The Lakers missed out on Kawhi Leonard because of the Clippers securing Paul George, and their failure to sign the Thunder star in 2018 was complete.
The Clippers ended up going from a fringe contender to being the favourites to win the NBA title by acquiring two of the best players in the world.