When We Were Young and Fearless: Jonathan Abrams on the OKC Thunder That Changed the NBA

On this episode of the Sneaker History Podcast, Rohit Malhotra flies solo and sits down with Jonathan Abrams on pub day for his fourth book, When We Were Young and Fearless: Kevin, Russell, James, and the Making of the Modern NBA . Jonathan covered that Oklahoma City Thunder team in real time, from the 3-29 start after the move from Seattle to the 2012 Finals. He and Rohit get into the city and the team rising together, the Jeff Green trade as the moment it became a business, the 2012 Finals series that was closer than 4-1 looks, and how the NBA might look if that team had won it all. Plus Kevin Durant vs. Greg Oden in the 2007 Portland draft debate, Breaks of the Game, Sam Presti's Christmas card, Shaun Livingston as the book's sixth man, the big three as characters from The Wire, and Jonathan's favorite Kobes, the Kobe 5 Protro "Chaos." Get the book, When We Were Young and Fearless: https://bookshop.org/a/122044/9780063439559 CHAPTERS 0:00 Welcome, and happy pub day 1:04 Four books: Boys Among Men, All the Pieces Matter, The Come Up 1:38 Rockin' and Coppin': Jonathan's Kobes 3:27 Kobe, the Thunder and the 2010 playoffs 4:44 Why stories on the come up are the best stories 6:25 Oklahoma City and the Thunder rise together 10:10 Breaks of the Game and Seven Seconds or Less 11:16 The what ifs: the 2012 Finals, Jeff Green and James Harden 15:08 How fast the NBA changed after that team 15:45 After the 2012 Finals 16:42 Every combination of the big three 18:39 Kevin Durant, Greg Oden and the 2007 Portland draft 21:54 How Breaks of the Game shaped Jonathan 23:34 Sam Presti and the interview that didn't happen 25:41 Covering the 2007 NBA vs. today 26:45 Could this team happen in the prep to pro era? 30:13 Shaun Livingston, the sixth man of the book 33:04 The Thunder as characters from The Wire 35:21 Basketball through his sons' eyes, and LaMelo 37:37 Where to find the book The Sneaker Newsletter: https://www.thesneakernewsletter.com/ The Sneaker History newsletter: https://news.sneakerhistory.com/ Nick's book, Small Luxuries: Sneakers: https://bookshop.org/a/122044/9798317900854 Everything Sneaker History in one place: https://sneakerhistory.com/links Tell someone you like their kicks today. You never know how far a compliment will take you. And we all know how good it feels to be on the receiving end of some appreciation. SUPPORT THE SHOW: Donate Through Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/sneakerhistory Buy Me A Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/nickengvall Early Access, Exclusive Videos, and Content On Patreon: https://patreon.com/sneakerhistory Subscribe on Substack: https://substack.com/@sneakerhistory Join our Discord Community: https://discord.gg/xJFyWmWgza If you are interested in advertising to our audience, contact us: podcast@sneakerhistory.com CHECK OUT OUR OTHER SHOWS: For the Formula 1 Fans - Exhaust Notes: https://exhaustnotes.fm For the Fitted Hat Fans - Crown and Stitch: https://crownandstitch.com For the Cars & Sneakers Fans - Cars & Kicks: https://carsxkicks.com For the Creators & Creatives - Outside The Box: https://podcasts.apple.com/id/podcast/outside-the-box-convos-with-creators/id1050172106 [Links contain