📷 Trends from OKC's last WCF title

The Oklahoma City Thunder are connected their mode backmost to the NBA Finals.

Oklahoma City punched its summons Wednesday aft defeating Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves successful Game 5 of the Western Conference finals, a crippled successful which NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dropped 34 points.

According to ESPN Research, the 124-194 triumph made the Thunder conscionable the 3rd squad to notch aggregate 30-point series-clinching wins successful a postseason, joining the 2008 Boston Celtics and 1987 Los Angeles Lakers -- some of whom won the title.

The Thunder past reached the NBA Finals successful 2012 aft they defeated Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs successful six games; Kevin Durant averaged 29.5 points per crippled successful the bid for the Thunder.

A batch has changed successful the satellite -- and with the Oklahoma City franchise -- since 2012. Here's a look back.

OKC was successful a antithetic large 3 era

Before Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, determination was different large 3 pursuing the aforesaid goal.

Durant, present a guardant for the Phoenix Suns, was joined by existent Denver Nuggets defender Russell Westbrook and existent LA Clippers defender James Harden. The archetypal Oklahoma City large 3 helped the franchise decorativeness its 2011-12 regular play with a 47-19 grounds and averaged 68.4 points per crippled arsenic a unit.

On the Thunder's travel to the NBA Finals, they swept the defending champion Dallas Mavericks successful the archetypal round, defeated the Los Angeles Lakers successful 5 games and took the Spurs successful six.

When Oklahoma City reached the Finals, the large 3 faced the Miami Heat's LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, who averaged 21.9 points arsenic a corporate compared to the 23.3 points averaged by the trio of Durant, Westbrook and Harden.

Oklahoma City won Game 1 earlier losing 4 straight, and the Heat hoisted the Larry O'Brien Trophy and James earned his archetypal NBA Finals MVP honors.

Kevin Durant made his acting debut

Months aft Durant and his squad mislaid to the Heat, his archetypal film, thing astir similar "Like Mike," debuted.

In "Thunderstruck," which was released successful August 2012, Durant mysteriously switches accomplishment sets with a pupil who idolizes the then-Thunder star. The young instrumentality becomes the standout connected his precocious schoolhouse hoops squad portion Durant enters a slump.

The movie grossed $587,211 worldwide successful its 250-theater showing.

Nicki Minaj took implicit the rap world

Minaj, who is signed to Lil Wayne's Young Money Entertainment grounds label, topped the Billboard charts with her rap medium "Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded." The album, released connected Jan. 1, 2012, featured the deed opus "Beez successful the Trap," with 2 Chainz, and spent 25 weeks connected the Billboard Top 100. "Pink Friday" won the Billboard Music Award for Top Rap Album successful 2013.

Instagram expanded beyond iOS

Instagram, a societal media app utilized for photograph and video sharing, was disposable for Apple products successful its authoritative merchandise successful 2010. Over time, the app became much popular, and Instagram was bought for $1 cardinal successful currency and banal by Facebook 18 months aft its launch. Instagram made the app disposable connected the Android app store successful April 2012 aft "working tirelessly" to marque it Android-friendly.