After Westbrook delivered his message, he walked back to his spot above the three-point line and waited for Green to take his free throws. Donovan, after a brief consultation with Cheeks, went down the bench, called for Andre Roberson to come to the scorer’s table and removed Kanter from the game.

A moment like this could be perceived as a player dictating to his coach how the team should be run. But for the Thunder, and for Westbrook, Donovan and Kevin Durant, specifically, it was a moment that signified how much the relationship between Donovan and his team – and his stars in particular – has progressed over the course of this season.

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“I’ve tried to foster that kind of stuff because I think what happens a lot of times with players is a lot of times it may be, I don’t want them to feel like they can’t come to me,” Donovan told The Washington Post after Oklahoma City’s convincing 118-94 win, one that gave the Thunder a 3-1 series lead and one win from the NBA Finals. “I want Kevin and Russell and those guys that have been here and have invested so much to be able to communicate with me, and I want to be able to go to them.

“[One thing] I try to do is to get both parties to have ownership. You can sit here and say, ‘Do this, this and this,’ not explain it and say, ‘I’m the coach. It’s my way or the highway,’ and they’re not really bought into it and before you know it you’re never really maximizing what you can do together, so I try to create a situation where there’s accountability for both of us. We’re both on the hook.”

When Thunder General Manager Sam Presti made the decision to fire longtime coach Scott Brooks last summer and replace him with Donovan, it was a move that came with serious risks – particularly given Durant’s impending foray into unrestricted free agency this July. Brooks was criticized for various decisions he made over the course of his tenure in Oklahoma City, but the results were undeniable: a 338-207 record and three conference finals appearances in his final five seasons (with injuries limiting the Thunder the other two seasons).

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In addition to the success the Thunder enjoyed on the court, Brooks also fostered strong relationships with Westbrook and Durant. While Donovan’s resume from his time at the University of Florida – including back-to-back national championships in 2006 and ’07 – was an impressive one, there was no guarantee he would be able to forge that same kind of connection, or quickly adapt to life in the NBA.

Over the past few weeks, though, any lingering doubts about Donovan or the way he’s gone about the job have evaporated. He’s clearly gotten his players to buy in, and he’s made several key decisions that have helped Oklahoma City move to the precipice of the franchise’s second trip to the NBA Finals.

“It’s definitely gotten better,” Westbrook said of the relationship between Donovan and his team. “Obviously with the [coaching] change, we all had to adjust. … I think it’s been great.”

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Tactically, Donovan has been brilliant during these playoffs. His decision to play Kanter alongside center Steven Adams – and instead of longtime starter Serge Ibaka – for extended periods of time against the San Antonio Spurs after the Thunder was routed in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals was a master stroke, allowing the Thunder to hammer the Spurs inside and paving the way for Oklahoma City to claim the series in six games.

After Kanter played so well against San Antonio, Donovan has all but benched him in this series, instead opting to play a small-ball lineup featuring Durant at power forward and Ibaka at center for extended minutes the past two games. That lineup has destroyed the Warriors and their own small-ball formation, their so-called “Death Lineup.” Oklahoma City has outscored Golden State 91-35 in the 26 minutes the Thunder has had its smallball lineup on the court. The rest of Oklahoma City’s lineup combinations, meanwhile, have actually been outscored by four points through the first four games of this series.

Not only has the Thunder shown off its impressive versatility, but Donovan’s ability to dramatically extend and decrease players’ minutes illustrates how he has earned the trust of a group that believes in his decisions.

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It took time for that trust to form, a process that was stunted by Cheeks missing a chunk of the season due to hip surgery and the leave of absence taken by fellow assistant coach Monty Williams after the tragic death of his wife, Ingrid, in a car accident February 10.

Over the last few weeks, though, it’s been clear to see that trust is now there, and Donovan’s willingness to collaborate with his stars has been right at the heart of it.

“I always feel my job and responsibility is to try and generate and create thoughts to help those guys individually, and our team collectively, be better,” Donovan said. “When you’re generating those kinds of thoughts, you want to be including the players. I want it to be more of a unified, cohesive group that’s working together.”