9 years of hard work! The home game exploded in 4-3 instantly, and the boss knelt down and roared: We are back

Just as soon as the final whistle sounded, the Chesapeake Energy Arena exploded directly. Thunder star Alexander knelt on the ground, his fingers poked at the floor, and his eyes were filled with tears - this team that had been waiting for 9 years finally stepped on the shoulders of the defending champion Nuggets and returned to the Western Conference Finals. The orange ocean in the stands was boiling, some people cried and some laughed, and the 9 years of frustration burst out in this roar.

From the league to the top in the West, they turned reconstruction into a hot-blooded script

Who could have thought that the league is now ranked first, and it was still in a mess 9 years ago? After being reversed in the Western Conference Finals in 2016, the Thunder did not make the playoffs for five years, and even won only 22 games in 2021, becoming a regular visitor to the Lotto area. But the management is ruthless and has saved up 8 first-round picks for five consecutive years, creating the youth teams of Alexander and Homgren. This season, he won 68 wins in the league and ranked second in the league with a defensive efficiency of 108.7. He is definitely from "bottom" to "iron-blooded division".

The tiebreaker seven battle even increased the impact of youth. He was 11 points behind in the first quarter, and Alexander scored 35 points and 7 assists in the game, and made consecutive breakthroughs in the last quarter to cause damage; the 19-year-old Homgren gave away five big hats, pushing Jokic's shooting percentage to 42.3%. Continuing the "last quarter law" of the entire series - a net win of 48 points in the first 6 games, and another 16 points won in this game. Using the physical fitness of not running to turn the game into its own rhythm.

Winning the tiebreak is just the beginning. They are rewriting the Thunder's history script. This battle is not only an advancement, but also a slap in the face of "reconstruction of uselessness". In the past, Westbrook and Durant carried the banner, but now six players scored in double digits, with a substitute averaged 42.6 points per game, with a key shot percentage of 48.7%, completely tearing off the label of "double-star dependence". The data website directly raised their chances of winning the championship to 48%, surpassing the Celtics to become a new hot spot.

The most exciting thing is the old fans on the scene. An uncle held the light sign "2016→2025, we didn't leave" to wipe his tears. 9 years are enough to make the boy middle-aged, but he has not extinguished his love for orange. DJ's sentence "I used to laugh at us for being so stupid? Now I use the championship window to respond" to shout out the voices of all the persistents - there is no overnight counterattack, it just grinds the scar into armor.

There is a harder battle behind the carnival. But youth is the biggest capital. In the locker room after the game, Alexander stuffed the game into his backpack: "This is the first step." Indeed, opposite the Western Conference Finals, they are both old people with championship experience. However, 73% of the players under the age of 25 in the Thunder are running 12 kilometers per game, and the physical advantage can be seen at the naked eye. In contrast, the Nuggets Jokic is 30 years old, the Suns Durant is 35 years old, and the Thunder has at least 3 years left.

There is a 120,000-year comment saying: "I watched the football with my father 9 years ago, and now I take my son to see the Western Conference Finals, it's like handing down my youth." The most moving thing about sports is this inheritance - When Alexander knelt down and roared, those who gritted their teeth in life saw their heads from this team.

Next, facing the experienced Western powerhouses, do you think this young army can be defeated to the end? Can 9 years of waiting lead to the championship Champagne?