

OKLAHOMA CITY — Last March, during a few days in Oklahoma reporting out a magazine story, I asked Thunder officials a question: Who is the wild card? On paper, Oklahoma City was a juggernaut, a 68-win freight train, with the MVP leading the offense, waves of defenders backstopping the league’s stingiest defense. But the Thunder were young and inexperienced, and the Western Conference playoff field was filled with teams older and more experienced. Someone had to exceed expectations, I reasoned.