13 years is an eternity in the NBA. The frequent turnover on rosters and teams makes it nearly impossible for the same cast of characters to be at the same spot during that duration.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are a textbook example, as the players who celebrated their 2025 NBA Finals berth are much different from those who celebrated the same achievement in 2012. Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden have been recast as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren.

Advertisement

Still, lifelong Thunder fans see the similarities between both iterations. Both were young squads that stormed the league. After a much-needed two-day break, the Thunder returned to the practice facility as they prepare for the 2025 NBA Finals.

Chet Holmgren talked to media. After missing three months with a hip fracture that broke his season into two halves, the 23-year-old has played better the deeper the Thunder gets into the playoffs. After OKC clinched an NBA Finals spot, several former players chimed in on social media to congratulate the franchise.

Reflecting on the last time the Thunder made the NBA Finals, Holmgren fondly remembers his childhood. Durant’s and Westbrook’s superstar dynamics put OKC on the national map. The All-Star duo headlined a title contender throughout the 2010s.

It shouldn’t be a shocker to learn that Holmgren’s childhood peers were Thunder fans. They were the mainstream team to pick that rivaled old-school classics like the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics.

Advertisement

“It’s hard not to think when I was a kid and starting in AAU and late elementary school, all the kids on the team and on the other team were on the OKC bandwagon back then,” Holmgren said. “It was the youth’s bandwagon.”

Fast forward a decade, Holmgren now represents the Thunder. He’s developed a relationship with a fellow lanky seven-footer in Durant. Both have spoken glowingly about each other and have spent summer workouts in the same gyms.

As Holmgren plays his first NBA Finals, he has a plethora of NBA veterans have can go to for advice. While he kept his cards close to his vest, you can read between the lines that he likely reached out to Durant in these last couple of days.

“I’ll say my private conversations are my private conversations,” Holmgren said with a smile.

Advertisement

Thunder fans might have a toxic relationship with Durant, but that doesn’t mean the players have to. If you can go to someone like him for advice, you definitely should do it. Nothing wrong with receiving words of encouragement from one of the greatest players ever.

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Chet Holmgren reflects on 2012 Thunder and his childhood