Thunder's Kanter: We were better, played harder than Warriors in WCF

The Oklahoma City Thunder are 1-0 to start 2016-17 after a rocky end to their previous campaign.

The team had a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference finals before falling to the Golden State Warriors in seven games. It was a tough way to go out, especially for Enes Kanter, who believes the better team didn't advance.

"It was definitely frustrating because I remember after (Game 7), I looked and a lot of people were crying in the locker room," he recalled to Scooby Axson of SI.

"And you went that far and we knew that we were the better team and we played harder. But it's a seven-game series. We will always remember that it's a seven-game series."

Indeed, it was a seven-game series - an entertaining and closely matched one. Oklahoma City will be hard pressed to return to that spot next year, as superstar Kevin Durant jumped ship to the Warriors over the summer, making them the title favorites.

That doesn't mean the Thunder will simply roll over, though.

Now the undisputed leader of the squad, Russell Westbrook is a man on a mission, and the odds-on favorite to earn league MVP honors.

Meanwhile, Kanter is committed to playing better defense.

"One thing I think the playoffs taught me is if you want to win a championship, if you want to go that far, you cannot do it without defense, you can't be selfish," he said.

Oklahoma City had the 13th-ranked defense last season to go along with the No. 2 offense.