A Tale of Two NBA Rebuilds

The Oklahoma City Thunder are on pace to be a top 4 team in the Western Conference, while the Detroit Pistons are on pace to have the highest odds at the lottery. Both rebuilds started at around the same year. However, one team is thriving, and the other is suffering.
This is a tale of two NBA rebuilds
Channels that deserve some love:
@LockedOnPistons
@Sonicsgate
@AMHoops
@KrispyFlakesNBA
Second channel: / @toofortoo242
Twitter: / tooforwon241
Instagram: / tooforwon241
For business inquiries, contact me via email at [e-mail]
TIMESTAMPS
0:00:00 - Introduction
0:00:55 - Setting The Tables
0:05:36 - Seattle Savior
0:13:40 - Pistons Plummet
0:17:45 - Trio In Oklahoma
0:31:35 - Thunderstruck Losses
0:39:05 - Reggie Playoff Piston
0:42:10 - Snake Eats The Apple
0:46:32 - Grueling Griffin Era
0:52:02 - Mister Thunder Strikes Out
1:00:52 - The Presti Genius Play
1:07:08 - Weaver Outclassed By Master
1:13:49 - League Changing Draft Luck
1:17:24 - The Unraveling

[@dsbeats5657]

I swear to God, it feels like every single team has a formers spurs assistant like Popovich coaching trees is insane and even crazier that they have a GM tree 😂

[@kidgotgame4516]

Bro's low-key trying to recreate the Spurs. You have their former shooting coach and then a HC that preaches ball movement/defense. Presti ain't slick 🤣

[@Romanus-]

@@kidgotgame4516it’s the right move. Look how much the spurs won during Duncan’s years. Right organization to try and emulate

[@razkable]

Pop was a gm too

[@808bboarder]

@@kidgotgame4516Spurs front office is fucking trash. It takes winning the lottery for generational big men to save them. Think about this. Spurs last playoff appearance was before Covid existed while the Thunder were in the Bubble Playoffs. How tf are the Spurs still ass and won less games with Wemby 💀

[@prajwalkrishnabhat5539]

​@@808bboarder bro look at their first round picks they got after kawhi left the spurs. They couldn't get a single top 10 pick until last year and this year, in which they picked jeremy Sohan and wemby(good player). Are you saying they should've gone the Brooklyn nets route and just bring stars from outside when you know it's failed more often than not? The spurs have always been that team that actually builds their talent through the draft and now that they got it, they'll be good again. You can't expect them to make playoffs when they couldn't draft a single good player. It's not their fault that all their draft picks turned out to be bad.

[@Iso_SSB]

just bouta eat sum dinner, tooforwon posts, this really a two for one 😂😂

[@emceegames2909]

Fye 😂

[@AsianLing]

What bro have for dinner ?

[@AK-46]

@@AsianLing🎉

[@98ore]

same lol

[@marknneal4095]

lol sames

[@hunterking6033]

"If sports betting was around back then..." There weren't smart phones and it took a couple more steps, but there was betting in 2004.

[@tooforwon241]

Yeah I know. I definitely messed up there 😅

[@604eign]

I was gonna say they been betting on sports since like 1700’s 😂😂😂

[@JammerAma]

​​@@604eignpeople would bet on the gladiators lol. People have been betting as long as there's been sport

[@hooper4193]

those first 15 seconds was probably one of the greatest intros from a basketball documentary. The music choice was perfect. GG’s

[@mubinahmed2318]

Missed one thing, That blake griffin trade had a 1st rounder used to draft Shai Gilgeous-Alexander lmfaooooo

[@skysmith4221]

As someone from OKC, it has been an awesome roller coaster to witness and be a part of. Great video man!! Now let's ball! #ThunderUp

[@mr.minimalist3956]

Sam presti is a generational gm

[@KazDM]

As a Supersonic myself, the pain in seeing our former team draft 3 hall of fame players in consecutive drafts was crushing. When the Sonics return OKC will have hell to pay.

[@julianbell9161]

I feel like OKC is, in a weird way, is kind of cursed because of how they left Seattle. They created the next great NBA dynasty with KD, Russ, and Harden, and then they blew it by trading Harden. They are close, but they kept getting beaten by San Antonio and Golden State

[@robertsmith9741]

It's still crazy to me that there are 17 year olds walking around that have never seen a Supersonics game.

[@elburto5387]

You're Sonic?

[@Yeen125]

@@julianbell9161Milwaukee Brewers (aka the Seattle Pilots): *First time?!*

[@blanetamez532]

Or the sonics will become the Cleveland Browns of the NBA and be clowned on by the OKC like the Ravens have to the browns for 24 years… be careful what you wish for.

[@senorprepotente]

As a Thunder fan that’s been through both, this video was so well done. Brought back great memories, great frustrations but really showed how great Presti is and how quick we got back into the discussion with one of the brightest futures I’ve ever seen.. to have 11 QUALITY players that can play and not kill the team is crazy and one of the best players in the organization still hasn’t cracked the lineup yet. With one potential lottery pick this season (3total) and another 3 next year while having cap because ALL our players are so young is truly amazing. Thank you for the blast from the past and the look into the future

[@SpexMedia]

Hubby finally uploaded😍

[@fbmbjaay7913]

ayo

[@thelastjerkbender2505]

Oh shit. Are you two dating? Happy for both of you.

[@Bmoreflow]

gay

[@cond.oriano8211]

Really great to see your progress bro. Your videos have been getting better and better

[@scottbernberg9046]

good to have you back. best long form content in the biz.

[@user-qq5uu2rz2h]

Thanks for sharing your great reporting! ❤

[@plutobp7191]

Amazing video as usually

[@calebfilms4044]

Bro you are mad talented fr. I respect the amount of time you put into this vid beats a lot of basketball documentaries out there. Great stuff man appreciate the content you make.

[@DerryGlenn]

Great doc keep em coming

[@heliion9052]

shortly in already nicely done as always

[@CJmidnightreactions]

The OKC and Memphis second round was legendary!

[@Shabutie554]

Those were some WARS.

[@goodluckchucknetwork1374]

Happy to see ya back

[@jankuc331]

What a great vid fam that was a hell of a watch ❤

[@hoodg3nius]

Another banger once again tooforwon ❤️❤️❤️

[@chronics23]

as a Thunder fan the first 3 quarters of this video were hard to watch knowing what was going to happen in the end, but the last quarter gives me so much hope that we can maybe pull this thing off!

[@Bossforthecause]

Ur the goat!!! Love these type of vids

[@piptaz04]

earned a sub. what a movie

[@gunzs]

As a pistons fan, this hurts to watch

[@flyingsaucerfoundation2766]

Two words broke my soul watching this: Josh Smith

[@1abe]

Tooforwon video love to see it

[@LetttuceMan]

First time seeing your videos. Great storytelling

[@Mudboy44]

Love the new style good video

[@e1028]

Reviving all of this and seeing the starting 5 at 15:55 gives me nightmares. Thanks Tooforwon! Really tho this is a great video besides all the pain I feel as a pistons fan. Atleast I was alive to see 2004 I guess

[@rexisright]

Oiii the mic quality from the first sentence 🔥 as a watcher of all your vids, THANKGAWWWD

[@Breezy_alee]

Bravo 👏🏽

[@vinsanity3510]

Man I was worried you were gonna drop some of the most heat videos and then disappear but you’re back! I won’t doubt you again brother hahah

[@RamG0602]

Love this video as a Thunder fan!! Great compilation and narration. One thing was that Billy D didn’t get fired. He chose to leave OKC and go to the Bulls because he didn’t want to be a part of the rebuild

[@Shabutie554]

Such a blessing. Marky D is the man

[@valleyranch_8973]

Omg thank goodness this channel popped up on my feed

[@DSPHistoricalSociety]

Brilliant research

[@elburto5387]

Awesome video 241!

[@moomoo1826]

chill with the sound effects nice video

[@VastContent]

I mean this in the best way possible but holy shit is this unlike any other of your videos, It is simply amazing

[@modtick]

As a Long time Thunder Fan. well as long as they have been here. There's a lot of old memories I have tied to story.

[@j.k.kaisla1431]

I was thinking this morning why there`s only short ones from you. getting little annoyd. And there it is! Thanks. I know i`ll watch this again, bacause english is my second language and these are good.

[@1abe]

The mic quality and music was amazing with this video, great improvements 🔥

[@tooforwon241]

Thank God! I saw one comment that said otherwise, but I'm happy that you see improvements this time 🔥

[@mhar2812]

Solid okc fan here since moving seattle to okc in 2008..

[@cameronboakye7036]

Perfect timing .. bout to smoke a spliff to this one 😁😁

[@yesnomaybe1220]

Good topic!

[@ajanthanthevarajah5529]

Good work

[@Ekenei]

Welcome back buddy

[@Shabutie554]

Love my Thunder. We are so fortunate to have Sam Presti.

[@erfquake8415]

Gone gone thank you at the beginning🤩🤩🤩

[@corradocampo]

Booted first round of my fantasy playoffs last night cuz my team was looking like a damn hospital and I ran out of waiver moves. This was nice to wake up to, thanks man

[@ricphilly4520]

Went to sleep early and now I’m wide awake with 4 hours until work and I can’t go back to sleep! I see twoforwon done post a video finally! This video is so on point right now!✅💯

[@sosmooth13]

1:02:23 the idiot bringing up how many titles OKC ended up with when questioning Sam Presti’s leadership must’ve forgot OKC went through the all-time best teams and players for the past decade 😂craziest gauntlet for a young team. Grit and grind Grizzlies, Kobe, Dirk, Bron, Duncan, Ginobli, Kawahi is a crazy list of HoF players bro just ignored.

[@offthetrail636]

42 minutes in and I guarantee I finish this. Good doc

[@bigjabba]

the goat is back

[@JW-1089]

Great video brother, I really enjoyed watching and keep it going.

[@frankpaparo4839]

wtf is the background noise

[@dman1069]

Porn music

[@TrinzySpencer]

very happy to see you back love the content!!

[@garretttank1711]

And now OKC is the 1st seed in the West trying to make a WCF appearance

[@chukwuee]

Missed you bro, thanks for dropping

[@blanetamez532]

Great job man you never fail to entertain!

[@jfrank1013]

Preciate u fam✊🏽

[@LosCorruptos]

Cade: "we're not this bad" You're not Cade. The rest of your team, coach, gm, even owner. Yeah, they are

[@freakdavis3241]

NGL, as a Pistons supporter, I've looked at OkC with envious eyes a few times. Like how many times can yall break down a team and bounce back like Gumby lmao. I can only blame the team for picking Darko, and even that should be forgiven by now. Hayes over Haliburton still kills me, along with giving our coach an offer he couldn't refuse.It's just so many head scratching moments. I've always liked Okc. Hope you guys get one.

[@wookieecookie13]

Just watched the Kyrie and Ben Simmons ones again, perfect timing for another dope video

[@ThreeBZ]

Remember when I was in these comments a couple years ago repping sga for King 👑..I've been on that since he was at Kentucky..feels good to be right every once and awhile lol

[@adg5311]

Great video THUNDER UP

[@Hyside14]

you should make a video about the orlando magic rebuild, its feels like theyve been rebuilding for 20 years and finally showing promise now

[@geezushasrisen]

Seeing KD’s smile when Jeff got drafted with him makes me smile. Im from the same hood; seeing some DMV representation makes me happy.

[@michaelahurt]

The Chauncey trade wasn’t the worst because ultimately the run had already ended by that point. The Blake trade was the worst because it actively set the franchise back. It was like selling your house to take a vacation. And not even a good vacation. Like renting an over priced loft in Ohio for two months and eating frozen pizza every night.

[@manzac112]

This was probably your best video hands down.

[@CD-tk2oc]

WHile OKC has done a good job rebuilding I feel like this isn't a fair comparison. OKC had the assets to really accelerate it where detroit has been trash for a minute.

[@sosmooth13]

I agree. Presti definitely has an eye for talent that can’t be denied though. Harden and Westbrook seemed like reaches by experts and Presti knew the fit and upside was more important. That bet turned into big time trades that they’ll reap for years. Meanwhile, Pistons had no fucking capital in the draft at all, because they broke the bank on sorry broken down players.

[@Bob-te3le]

OK compare Pistons to Rockets. Rockets are on the rise and Pistons are still straight trash. It almost like the Pistons should've picked Jalen Green over Cade Cunningham for one.

[@michaelahurt]

@@Bob-te3le One team signed veterans and one didn’t. Assuming Detroit goes and gets veterans this off season they too will improve. The big difference is Houston’s core guys aren’t primary ball handlers. I mean they had given the ball to Amen instead of FVV they have 10-15 wins too. Orlando would be the more apt comparison since they are at least doing it with young players. I think Detroit is the 18-19 Suns. They were trash for four years with Booker before they showed signs of life. Only guys like Luka and Bron can just run a team starting in year two

[@michaelahurt]

@@sosmooth13 Harden definitely wasn’t a reach. He made by far the most sense among the available players. (Maybe Steph but no one was looking at Steph like that.) But 100% on everything else

[@Nick_MyName]

u could also blame the pistons for tht tho they held on to old players for too long and never traded to get younger and wanted to "compete" by being a 5-8 seed for years like the pacers as a gm u gotta know when its time to actually restart if u want to actually compete and not be mediocre for a decade

[@robareleaning836]

The difference is one is drafting with an eye for talent and a developmental plan and the other plans to build their team by luck in hopes of top 5 picks in hopes it plans out. They are not the same.

[@BlackMetalPidgeon666]

New vid yaaaaay

[@WOYGx1010]

Aye I know you put a lot of work in on these videos and I have to salute you for it

[@ThunderChels]

🔥🔥

[@lukesomers3798]

Why is this nightmare fuel

[@wholelottareese5268]

my glorious king uploaded 😅

[@neilsonsmith7214]

Dirk was a killer that year, what a run

[@Shabutie554]

Watching the old Westbrook playoff highlights makes me wonder why he abandoned that midrange jumper he was really good at. He’s never been a great shooter, but he could hit that regularly.

[@ihashup]

My mental health this year as a Pistons fans this last decade + has suffered severely. I am not I will ever be the same again.

[@joshuabile4657]

can you do an nba draft episode? keep up the good work

[@zackgammo4333]

Hate watching this as a pistons fan born in 04

[@nn4mz571]

49:41 - Bro! What the hell was that pass?! 😂💀🤦🏾‍♂️

[@alexandrebeik6314]

Brother just to start off and get this outta the way you make the best basketball vids on KZbin imo. What you could still improve are 2 things - consistency of uploading and for this video specifically there were parts in the beginning that were way to low on brightness to see what was happening. Besides those minor things you're Killin it. Been with you from early. Respect sent from Toronto

[@TJzWayy]

Eating some eggs with some hasbrowns, bacon, and grilled trout. Perfect time

[@TADA13]

45:02. Remember that recent Curry celebration after the game winner against the Suns? Here he is kinda doing it, several years before lol

[@sosmooth13]

As a Pistons fan, I already know everything there is to know about these guys. GM’s threw money and trades for out one championship and drafted absolutely horribly for the next decade. Then it continued all the way up until Cade. We had no draft capital after the leadership turnover and questionable decisions in recent years. It’s crazy how exactly 20 years since our last championship, we are the total opposite in terms of defense and winning.

[@thegoats20]

Jeff green still one of my fave thunder players.

[@3rdaaa]

Sam Presti farming ability needs to be studied. Excited to see both teams in the future, how each team can maximize their players

[@schvyler]

Thanks for putting this together. I didn’t think I’d watch this but this is better content than most NBA channels. You have good ideas, it seems.

[@BonsuTheTiger]

he has returned with a banger documentary. It’s really important to see two sides of the coin when it comes to rebuild and I think pistons and thunder are just that well done bro.

[@TK-qd5xw]

Here is an insane fact about OKC screwing with the Supersonics before they even existed. Seattle Supersonics were named after the Boeing 2707, which was supposed to be the first supersonic passanger airplane. The plane never entered service as the problems of supersonic passanger flight were realized in operation bongo II also known as the "Oklahoma City sonic boom tetsts". Test done in Oaklahoma City destroyed the thing that the sonics were named after and then almost 50 years later the same city stole the team.

[@808bboarder]

Take the foil off your windows and go outside. One city didn’t want to fund a new arena for their team and the other just voted on it.

[@TK-qd5xw]

@@808bboarder what are you talking about? I didn't incinuate anything I just pointed out a wild coinsidence. You can just look up the origins of the Seattle Supersonics from any offical NBA or Sonics source and bongo II from any offical US source. There is no conspiracy and bongo II and the fact that the Sonics moved have nothing to do with each other and nothing in what i wrote says that there is.

[@maybeimnotwokeenough775]

Ÿou make the best basketball videos 🎉

[@ABruhMan]

🥹 all this pain, when will it ever stop

[@TheKing60210]

Hey man. Just wanna say, this is great editing and I really enjoyed this. Im a Wolves fan and I really respect the Thunder. SGA and Company really deserve their flowers for the rebuild

[@mollyanderson657]

SGA gives me KD flashbacks

[@cameronboakye7036]

46:18 😂😂😂 funny guy

[@DJ_WeWatchBattles]

Oh yeah let’s goooo

[@HenryZhoupokemon]

When the Ford family bought the lions in 1964, they were a storied franchise, and turned the team into the laughingstock of the NFL, and is only now changing their culture Tom Gores bought the Pistons in 2011, which was also a historic franchise, and has basically run them to the ground. If you’re over the age of 30, you’re probably not gonna see another pistons chip in ur lifetime assuming Gores holds onto the team

[@sosmooth13]

Someone has to have the type of love and eye for talent that the Holmes and Presti’s out there do along with draft capital. Lions had that capital and turned it around along with Presti in OKC. Detroit didn’t have any of that. Just money.

[@MrImabowss]

Tbh we gotta appreciate the fact that Sam Presti had two superstars to trade and start their rebuild. This doesn't really happen that often. The way Sam Presti navigated the domino effect from those two trades was truly masterful.

[@somregularguy]

If you time traveled to someone in 2012 after the finals and told them that in 2024 the OKC thunder not only are still looking to make their first finals since let alone win their first championship they would not believe you