The NBA playoffs have long brought energy to downtown Oklahoma City, as player banners hang off tall buildings, local shops decorate their storefronts in Thunder colors and restaurants host watch parties. But this year’s playoff season feels a bit different for Kristen Vails.
“This could be a historic run for the Thunder with how good they have been playing; that’s pretty exciting to think about,” said Vails, director of place management for Downtown OKC, a nonprofit that advocates for a vibrant downtown district.
Fans of each NBA playoff team have dreams of a deep playoff run that ends in a championship. But those dreams feel more like reality this year in Oklahoma City.
The Thunder enter the playoffs as the top seed in the Western Conference and the betting odds favorite to win it all, according to most odds makers.
If the Thunder were to reach the NBA Finals, it would also mean 10 more weeks of the basketball season and a significant boost for downtown’s restaurants, shops and hotels.
Vails said Downtown OKC will be working with the Thunder in mid-April to set up various “pop up opportunities for fans to get ready.” Details aren’t public yet, but Vails said it will be a unique experience that will offer fans a chance to buy apparel and prepare for games.
Downtown OKC will also provide many small businesses with items to decorate their windows and stores.
“Obviously, downtown benefits from games all season long,” Vails said. “But during the playoffs, local shops especially benefit from customers that are looking to show their city pride. Overall, the excitement of the playoffs kind of brings people out to celebrate more with their dollars, which is great for the economy.”
There won’t be a large outdoor watch party during the games. But the team will host Thunder Up in the Park before each game at Scissortail Park across the street from the arena. The event features live music, a beer garden, inflatable games and other interactive exhibits.
Last year, the team also hid Thunder lunch boxes around the city with merchandise inside.
“It’s just an energy like no other that happens in Oklahoma,” Thunder Vice President of Broadcasting and Corporate Communications Dan Mahoney said.
Historic season
This year is the team’s 12th playoff appearance during its 17 seasons in Oklahoma City, making the Thunder just one of nine teams to reach that mark. The Thunder also set a new franchise record for wins.
The team has developed a reputation as a high-chemistry squad, drawing attention for its teamwide post-game interviews. That closeness was featured in a new AT&T national commercial as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams show up to a photoshoot all wearing the same outfit.
“At AT&T, we confidently guarantee our network,” the commercial’s narrator says. “What we can’t guarantee is you and your teammates being too connected.”
On the court, Gilgeous-Alexander has emerged as one of the favorites to win the league’s Most Valuable Player award after averaging nearly 33 points a game, the best average in the NBA.
“SGA is incredible,” Bill Simmons, founder of the sports site The Ringer, recently said on The Dan Patrick Show. “He is having, I think, one of the best scoring seasons in the history of the guard positions.”
Painting the town
One of the signs that the playoffs are back are the dozens of businesses around the city and in downtown that paint their windows in Thunder colors and phrases.
Melissa Griggs-Hendricks and Candace Chao, two local artists who have worked with the Thunder for several years, do much of that painting.
“I really love doing this work, and we get to meet a lot of people in the community,” Griggs-Hendricks said.
She said it’s common for people to see them working and yell out in Thunder cheers or to compliment her work.
“People see us painting the windows, and they yell out,” Griggs-Hendricks said. “We kind of get heckled with kindness.”
The windows include phrases like “Let’s Go Thunder” and “We heart OKC.”
Griggs-Hendricks said the decorations around town go beyond the basketball team and bring a heightened sense of civic pride.
“I feel like it’s a great way to bring the community together, even people who aren’t huge basketball fans … they just love that there is something so wonderful in their community going on that they are proud of,” Griggs-Hendricks said.
Studying crowds
The playoffs will also allow Downtown OKC to collect more data on who visits the downtown district. For the past year, the organization has been using software from Placer AI, which uses cell phone data to study movement patterns.
“We are able to tell how many people come downtown, how many people come to events, and we can break it down by visitors, employees and residents,” Vails said. “It’s a pretty cool platform, but we are just now getting used to using it, and this will be our first playoff season to really collect this type of data.”
Vails said the data will help plan for future playoff seasons and advocate for specific infrastructure based on the needs that emerge.
Vails is looking forward to multiple months of more Thunder basketball and warmer weather that will bring more people downtown, not just to watch games at the arena, but to gather at restaurants and bars.
“I’d encourage folks to make an effort to watch the game out of your home and with your community because nothing beats cheering with the room full of fellow fans,” Vails said. “There’s going to be a lot of ways to bring the playoffs into everyday life with school, work, home and community; folks can be looking for these downtown pop-up activations on ways to plug into that.”
Visit downtownokc.com.
This article appears in OKC Ballet Shorts.