How OKC Thunder shirts became NBA playoffs tradition: 'So much more than a shirt'

Fourteen years ago, Brian Byrnes was not sure 18,203 T-shirts could be provided or even printed within the 48-hour window needed.

But he and other Oklahoma City Thunder staffers were determined to make it work.

“It just became, you know, an opportunity,” he said.

The up-and-coming Thunder had just won its first NBA playoff game in OKC, taking down the big, bad Kobe Bryant-led Lakers.

To commemorate that game — a first for the young franchise — each fan in attendance received a shirt at their seat. It was a one-time thing.

Well, until it wasn’t.

The giveaway was so popular. The energy from the upset was also so high.

The Thunder needed to do it again. And fast.

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Byrnes and others immediately worked to find a vendor. Within an hour of the buzzer sounding, they had found a sponsor — Cox — and by 1 a.m. a vendor in Dallas ready to provide the shirts. They arrived the next morning and were immediately sent to a printing press.

A tradition that has spanned 15 years was born.

“We never thought that we would do this,” said Byrnes, now the Thunder’s senior vice president of sales and marketing.

On a night OKC welcomed back the NBA playoffs — the Thunder edged New Orleans 94-92 — for the first time since 2019, a white shirt filled each seat. A rowdy sellout crowd donned the giveaway, sporting a symbol of pride. The 1 millionth shirt in 55 postseason games was given away, too.

It had been far too long, but a favorite tradition lived on.

“It's become something so much more than a shirt,” Byrnes said. “It's obviously a signal to the marketplace that it's playoff time. And that playoffs have a different intensity. And in the T-shirt is a signal that it's an elevated experience.

“But it's also about when everybody's wearing the shirt together. It's a sign of unity.”

Byrnes noticed an uptick of interest in the shirts leading up to Sunday. Anticipation of the design. White or blue?

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And just the excitement of playoff basketball.

“It’s an award for the fans,” longtime season-ticket holder Vicki Williams said as she sported her shirt on the concourse.

Fans of all ages donned the white shirt that was waiting for them at their seats. If they hesitated or refused, a camera found them in pregame warmups. Eventually, those fans relented and put on the shirt.

The public-address announcer welcomed each of those fans to the team.

Energy only picked up from there.

“It’s unexplainable, man,” said 31-year-old Gadhier Velez, who was attending his second playoff game and first since 2012. “It’s so loud in there. It’s crazy. We came up here months ago. It’s so different.”

Velez stood next to his wife, Katherine, and their 5-year-old son, Mateo, who sported the adult extra-large shirt that nearly touched his shoes.

They were soaking in each moment together.

“That's what we want the shirt to be,” Byrnes said. “We want it to be this activator of energy and this way to unite our fans together behind a common purpose.”

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Which is why the Thunder even took it to a new level, one that a certain fan will never forget.

In fact, Jaylen O’Conner plans to frame his T-shirt.

“I got to,” he said. “It’s a must.”

Perhaps there will be a plaque explaining the significance. Maybe even a picture.

The shirt was the millionth given to fans in 55 playoff Thunder home playoff games. And O’Conner received it at midcourt just moments before he nailed a shot worth $20,000.

“I think it was meant to happen,” said O’Conner, a former Edmond Santa Fe High School basketball standout who played some small college basketball.

A dream shot and a free shirt. It doesn’t get much better.

But there will be more games and more shirts.

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Byrnes said the Thunder now gets the shirts from local business Oklahoma Shirt Company. Each design has been planned out for the first round. But nothing yet for other rounds, partly to not get too far down the road and become a jinx.

And Byrnes is proud to see how a last-minute decision has become part of the lifeblood of Thunder postseason games.

He has watched other arenas attempt the same thing throughout the years in both the NBA and NHL.

They don’t quite match the level of the Thunder.

“Candidly, we think that our fans are the best at it,” Byrnes said. “They wear it from the first row to the last row, and they take pride in it. And I think that's something that we've curated over time.”

More: Why former Thunder guard Tre Mann attended OKC's playoff win vs New Orleans

Game 2: Thunder vs. Pelicans

TIPOFF: 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at Paycom Center (TNT, Bally Sports Oklahoma)

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Thunder T-shirt giveaway for NBA playoffs has become tradition