2011–12 Oklahoma City Thunder season
The 2011–12 Oklahoma City Thunder season was the 4th season of the franchise's existence in Oklahoma City as a member of the National Basketball Association.
The Thunder continued to build on recent success in previous years by making the NBA Playoffs, first defeating and sweeping the defending NBA champions, the Dallas Mavericks, in four games in the First Round, then defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in five games in the Semifinals, and finally, defeated the San Antonio Spurs in six games in the Western Conference Finals to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1996, when the club was based in Seattle.
In the NBA Finals, the Thunder faced off against the Big Three-led Miami Heat, who made an appearance in the previous NBA Finals, but lost to the Dallas Mavericks in six games. Despite winning Game 1 in the NBA Finals, the Thunder would then go on to lose the next four games and the NBA Finals against the Heat.
Other season highlights included forward Kevin Durant's third consecutive NBA scoring title, and Durant being named the MVP of the All-Star Game.
Key dates
- June 23: The 2011 NBA draft took place at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Draft picks
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
| 1 | 24 | Reggie Jackson | PG | United States | Boston College |
Roster
Pre-season
Regular season
Standings
Game log
Playoffs
Game log
Awards, records and milestones
Awards
Weekly
- Westbrook was named Western Conference Player of the Week for January 23–29, and February 6–12.
- Kevin Durant was named Western Conference Player of the Week for December 25 – January 1, February 13–19, and March 19–25.
Monthly
- Kevin Durant was named Western Conference Player of the Month for February and March 2012.
- Coach Scott Brooks was named Coach of the Month for games played in December and January.
All-Star
- Durant was named as a starter for the Western Conference in the 2012 NBA All-Star Game played in Orlando, earning the game's MVP Award.
- Russell Westbrook was selected as an All-Star team reserve by a vote of the Western Conference coaches.
- Thunder Coach Scott Brooks coached the Western Conference team in the All-Star Game due to the fact that the Thunder lead the Western Conference in winning percentage heading into the All-Star break.
Season
- Durant won the regular season scoring title by averaging 28.0 points per game, making him only the seventh player in NBA history to win three scoring titles in a row.
- Reserve guard James Harden was a runaway winner of the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award, garnering 115 of 119 first-place votes.
- Durant was voted to the All-NBA First Team for the third year in a row, whereas Westbrook was voted to the All-NBA Second Team for the second year in a row.
- Forward Serge Ibaka was voted to the All-NBA Defensive First Team.
Milestones
Injuries and surgeries
Backup point guard Eric Maynor had a season-ending torn ACL in his right knee in action at Houston on January 7.Starting shooting guard Thabo Sefolosha had a chronic sore right foot, forcing him to miss 23 games from January 30 through March 13.
Shooting guard Daequan Cook sustained a mild MCL sprain in his right knee against the Utah Jazz on March 20, sidelining him for an estimated 2–3 weeks.
Guard James Harden was diagnosed with concussive symptoms after being elbowed in the back of the head on April 22 by Lakers forward Metta World Peace. Harden was cleared to play for the Thunder's regular season finale against the Denver Nuggets after undergoing NBA-mandated post-concussion tests, but instead sat out until the first game of the playoffs. World Peace received a seven-game suspension for the incident.
Transactions
Current roster
On June 28, 2011, the Thunder exercised its fourth-year options on guard James Harden, forward Serge Ibaka, guard Eric Maynor and center Byron Mullens, as well as its third-year option on center Cole Aldrich.On June 29, 2011, the Thunder signed center Nazr Mohammed to a one-year extension through 2011–12, avoiding his becoming an unrestricted free agent. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but reported to be $3,750,000 for the year.
On June 27, 2011, the Thunder provided guard Daequan Cook a qualifying offer of $3,126,764 for 2011–12, making Cook a restricted free agent under the terms of the NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement set to expire after June 30, 2011. Cook's contract situation was resolved after the NBA lockout when the Thunder signed him to a contract extension paying him $6.5 million through the end of the 2012–13 season.
On December 13, 2011, the Thunder traded Robert Vaden and two conditional second-round draft selections to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Lazar Hayward.
Free agents
On March 21, 2012, the Thunder signed point guard Derek Fisher for the remainder of the 2012 season, after waiving its second-round 2010 draft pick forward Ryan Reid. Fisher had previously been traded form the Los Angeles Lakers to the Houston Rockets on March 15, but the Rockets subsequently bought out Fisher's contract making him an unrestricted free agent.Transaction summary table
| Date | Transaction Type | Thunder Acquired | Thunder Subtracted |
| December 11, 2011 | Draftee signing |  Reggie Jackson | |
| December 12, 2011 | Draftee signing | Ryan Reid | |
| December 13, 2011 | Roster trade | Lazar Hayward | Robert Vaden • two conditional second-round picks |
| December 19, 2011 | Roster trade | 2013 second-round pick | Byron Mullens |
| December 24, 2011 | Waiver | Nate Robinson | |
| March 21, 2012 | Free Agent Signing | Derek Fisher | |
| March 21, 2012 | Waiver | Ryan Reid |