The 2011–12 Oklahoma City Thunder season was the 4th season of the franchise's existence in Oklahoma City as a member of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Thunder continued to build on recent success in previous years by making the NBA Playoffs, first defeating and sweeping the defending NBA champions, the Dallas Mavericks, in four games in the First Round, then defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in five games in the Semi-finals, and finally, defeated the San Antonio Spurs in six games in the Western Conference Finals to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1996, when the club was based in Seattle.