On Wednesday evening, the Oklahoma City Thunder punched their ticket to the NBA Finals with a resounding Game 5 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves to secure the Western Conference Finals. The Thunder were once again led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but the real story was the Oklahoma City defense, which absolutely suffocated Minnesota in the three home games this series.

It's been a long but steady ascent for Oklahoma City since they were among the league's worst teams between 2020-2022. A picture has gone viral in recent weeks of one of the team's starting lineups from late in the 2022 season, featuring five players who are no longer on the roster in order to show how far the team has come.

One of those players, Isaiah Roby, recently took to his account on X with a good-natured jab at fans posting the photo.

“Man I'm Happy for OKC making the Finals fr…great team and organization, they deserve it!” wrote Roby. “The growth has been amazing to watch…Can we retire the 2022 end of year starting lineup pic now?”

Featured alongside Roby in the photo are Georgios Kalaitzakis, Jaylen Hoard, Zavier Simpson, and Vit Krejci.

Krejci is the only member of that lineup who is still in the NBA three years later.

An epic rise for the Thunder

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The Thunder have used a combination of savvy trades, elite drafting, and under-the-radar free agent acquisitions over the last few years to build a true juggernaut of a team this season.

Oklahoma City's calling card throughout the year has been defense, where they finished number one in the NBA and once again put that on display in Game 5 vs Minnesota.

The Thunder also boast a versatile offensive attack led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with help from co-stars Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren.

The Thunder now await the winner of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks to determine who they will face in the Finals, which begin on June 5 in Oklahoma City.