Even though it hasn’t even been two decades since the Oklahoma City Thunder arrived, the NBA champion has had a rich history of contenders. They’re one of the winningest teams since they relocated in 2008 and have been a perennial playoff squad.

The Thunder have had deep playoff runs every other season with an All-NBA representative in most of their years. They’ve had an unreal span of three MVP winners. Sam Presti has enjoyed unprecedented longevity because of his ability to rebuild and fortify championship contenders.

As the Thunder prepare to enter their 18th season, Thunder Wire will conduct top-five positional rankings. Let’s look at power forward:

5. Nick Collison

Thunder stint (2003-18, 15 seasons): 5.9 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 1.0 APG, 53.4% shooting, 20.8% 3-point shooting

Nicknamed ‘Mr. Thunder,’ Collison spent his entire 15-season career on the SuperSonics and Thunder. While he had a pedestrian career as a role player, his value to the franchise went beyond the court. He exemplified everything OKC stood for in terms of principles and intangibles. Because of that, he holds the special recognition of being the first player in Thunder history to have their jersey retired as No. 4 hangs in the rafters. Since his retirement, he’s been part of OKC’s front office.

On the court, Collison was a quality backup center. He was a textbook pick-and-roll partner and facilitated some of the offense with his secondary playmaking. His two-man game with James Harden led the OKC bench unit when it advanced to the 2012 NBA Finals. His durability and longevity made him stand out, as he toughed out injuries. There’s a reason why he was shouted out when the Thunder celebrated their NBA championship.

4. Jeff Green

Thunder stint (2007-11, 4 seasons): 14.2 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 1.7 APG, 44.3% shooting, 33.8% 3-point shooting

Still playing in the NBA, Green is the classic case of a good player in a bad fit. He enjoyed some early success in Seattle and OKC, but his importance to the team slowly decreased as Russell Westbrook and James Harden joined in the ensuing drafts. By his fourth season, he was in an awkward spot and a change of scenery would benefit him. That eventually happened in a trade with the Celtics for Kendrick Perkins. All these years later, he’s still in the league as one of the oldest players.

But reflecting on his time on the Thunder, Green showed flashes. He was a potent scorer who could rebound the ball. He also had no problem scaling his role depending on what OKC needed. But considering the bundle of contract extensions due, he was the odd man out. He’s overcome scary health problems and has been a career journeyman ever since.

3. Danilo Gallinari

Thunder stint (2019-20, 1 season): 18.7 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 1.9 APG, 43.8% shooting, 40.5% 3-point shooting

The forgotten piece of the 2019 Paul George trade, Gallinari had an eventful sole season in OKC that contributed to one of the more fun years ever. He was one of the more underrated players of his era. The 6-foot-10 forward could score at all three levels and was a high-volume outside shooter. Even though he was stuck on several bad teams, that shouldn’t erase how special a scorer he was when healthy. Thankfully for the Thunder, they enjoyed his last prime year.

Gallinari averaged nearly 19 efficient points. He shot over 40% from 3 on seven attempts. Seldom do you see that mix of volume and efficiency from the outside in OKC. While Chris Paul was the All-NBA talent, the fun part of that 2019-20 squad was that any player could lead the game in scoring. He was one of them. The Thunder then made the right decision not to bring him back, as he was quickly out of the league afterward. Maybe they could’ve traded him at the 2020 deadline, but hey, sometimes you just have to ride the fun vibes.

2. Jerami Grant

Thunder stint (2016-19, 3 seasons): 9.2 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 0.8 APG, 50.3% shooting, 36.8% 3-point shooting

One of the Thunder’s better development stories, Grant went from an athletic but raw player to a starter who stuffs the stats today. It all started in OKC as the Philadelphia 76ers quickly gave up on him in a little over two seasons. He was traded early in the 2016-17 campaign. He turned from a project into a role player. He provided a nice spark off the bench as somebody who can finish through traffic because of his athleticism and eventually became a passable outside shooter.

The Thunder finally promoted Grant to a starter in the 2018-19 season. While that was another disappointing year, he took full advantage of the opportunities. He turned into a double-digit scorer who could rebound the ball. That season also saw him become a decent outside shooter. Alas, he was traded to the Nuggets after the Thunder dealt away Russell Westbrook and Paul George in a full-on rebuild. Since then, he’s turned into a 20-point scorer at several stops, but hasn’t seen the NBA playoffs since 2020.

1. Serge Ibaka

Thunder stint (2009-16, 7 seasons): 11.6 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 2.5 BPG, 52.3% shooting, 35.5% 3-point shooting

The Thunder’s all-time block leader. At least for now. Ibaka was part of the first iteration of their title contender. He was a complementary piece next to Kevin Durant and Westbrook. When push came to shove, they chose to pay him over James Harden. He was one of the best defensive players of the 2010s. And indisputably the best shot-blocker at his peak. Even though he never won an NBA championship in OKC, he was the third-best player on a team that went to four Western Conference Finals and an NBA Finals.

Ibaka won two blocking titles in his time on the Thunder. He averaged an eye-popping 2.5 blocks in his time in OKC. At his best, that number was 3.7 blocks in just 27 minutes per game. Yep, read that number again. Just unreal. He made three straight All-Defensive Teams from 2011-14 and finished in the top four in Defensive Player of the Year all four seasons. On offense, he was a perfectly fine third scorer who could hit on his mid-range jumper and later expanded to beyond the perimeter. You have to love how he developed if you’re OKC. This was absolutely the best-case scenario and then some.