The 2023-2024 NBA season is upon us, and expectations are high for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Just about every prognosticator agrees the Thunder is a good team that will exceed last year’s surprising success, with a spot in the playoffs as a measure of that improvement.
Meanwhile, over the course of roughly the next two months, the team’s ownership and city leadership will be counting on that success as they ask voters to approve extending a one-cent sales tax to fund a new arena. Details on this new arena’s location and design are sparse at present — my editor insists the architects should cover it in solar panels — so what better way to garner good feelings about investing close to $1 billion into a single project than having its main tenant dominating on the court?
Starting Wednesday in Chicago, this regular season will feature the return, or perhaps the proper debut, of 2022 second overall pick Chet Holmgren, which will most certainly ignite a higher level of interest in the early games. That could be a good thing for the Thunder ownership group and their de-facto spokesman, OKC Mayor David Holt. A recent poll found some significant opposition to the upcoming Dec. 12 arena funding vote, but only 82 residents of Oklahoma City were surveyed, so take the results with a grain of salt.
Still, there’s a common adage in the sports world that “winning solves everything,” and I think to an extent that applies here. A hot start for the Thunder would make for warmer feelings at the cold, cold ballot box.
Past Sundaze comics
The water meter spins at the Edmond aquatic center
Ryan Walters explores new math with budget request
Endless consumption: Pac-Man popular in Oklahoma
Cheers to 8 years of (sometimes political) cartoons
What to do when there’s no room at the Edmond inn?
Behold, OU students: Lindsey Street tailgating returns
PAC 12 implosion continues conference realignment
The Earth must be quite a pothole for UFOs
American Heartland Theme Park raises some eyebrows
Sick of Stitt hammering the machine, Drummond seeks a spin
Introducing a Razr-thin margin of plausible deniability
Bright future: OKC Thunder rookies ready to get to work
Blockbuster: Oklahoma weather presents DVD-size hail
Uncommon ground in Edmond: No art of compromise?
Stitt knows how to get, how to get to Override Street
Former Justice Steven Taylor broke open a tie ballgame
Welcome to the whirlwind of graduation season
All aboard? Coordinating an Edmond, Norman, OKC commuter rail vote
Dunkin’ on each other for ‘Donuts with the Governor’
Oklahoma’s turnpike expansion plan faces road blocks
Easter Sundaze: Trying to save a dime in the egg aisle
Preserving Hafer Park memories: Welcome to paradise
Oklahoma’s Broadband Office and the mystery of missing meeting minutes
March Madness 2023: So your bracket is in shambles
Will the Oklahoma House lock in Daylight Saving Time?
SQ 820: We’ve got another election on our hands
Cockfighting fight turns back time at Oklahoma Capitol
Valentine voting: For the love of democracy
Last week on This Old Attorney General’s Office
Budget hearing previews the last ride of Mark McBride
Plenty of cooks in the Oklahoma education kitchen
Here’s looking at you, me: The two jobs of Ryan Walters
Compared to recent years, 2022 seemed tolerable
‘This is a BFD’: The romance of nuclear fusion heats up
Weird local rules mean extra Edmond elections
2022 World Cup draws cause cultural comparisons
Straight party voting throws quite a rager in Oklahoma
An ‘I voted’ sticker is the prize for enduring all these ads
Halloween can be a tough time to mind your diet
Answer the question? The art of political dodgeball
How hideous can the Ugly Season get before it’s over?
Down goes Dumpty: OKC Egg Church has a great fall
Many options for brand synergy in the OKC film industry
This season includes new adventures in OU tailgating
