Thunder fans need to find something to hate about Nene

Sure hope he's not expecting the Welcome Wagon.

In Oklahoma City, this guy is the face of the franchise that stands between the Thunder and an extended stay in the playoffs.

So, Thunder fans, why not direct some vitriol toward the one-name wonder when the series starts Sunday? Why not bring a little hate?

That's what Perkins does. He picks something that he doesn't like about a guy, then stews about it. He more he thinks about it, the more miffed he becomes.

It seems to work pretty well considering Perkins walks into the arena looking like he wants to break someone in half.

Now, the question is, what's it going to be about Nene that gets the bad blood brewing?

I mean, this guy isn't exactly Attila the Hun. He's actually been called a gentle giant.

(Can't you just hear Perk retching right now?)

Truth be told, Nene has a pretty hard-luck story. He grew up in Sao Carlos, Brazil, in a tiny, cinder-block, tin-roof house. Six people shared the two-bedroom house.

After he was drafted, the rest of the family moved to an upscale apartment in downtown Sao Carlos.

The reason: they worried about someone being kidnapped and held for ransom.

Basketball courts were few and far between in Sao Carlos. Soccer was the sport of choice, but local basketball enthusiasts made do. They attached basketball goals to the backs of two Jeeps, then drove them to empty parking lots and parked them 95 feet apart.

Instant basketball court.

The rims were made the wires, the nets with shoelaces and fishing net.

Somehow, Nene made his way to the NBA as the seventh overall pick in the 2002 draft.

Three years later, he blew out his knee.

Three years after that, he discovered that he had testicular cancer. He took a leave of absence to undergo treatment.

He had surgery on Jan. 14, 2008.

All the while, his then fiancée, now wife Lauren Prothe was having blurred vision and migraines. Doctors determined she had a small benign tumor on her pituitary gland.