Written by basketball writer Tim Reynolds
Oklahoma City Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finally grinned as he sank into coach Mark Daigneault’s arms after leaving the floor for the last time this season.
It was done.
The ascent is finished.
The reconstruction is complete.
The winners are the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Oklahoma City won the NBA title for the first time when the team that played the best all season ended up being the greatest team overall.
In Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night, the Thunder defeated the Indiana Pacers, who lost Tyrese Haliburton to a catastrophic leg injury in the first few minutes, 103-91. Gilgeous-Alexander ended his MVP season with 29 points and 12 assists.
Finals MVP Gilgeous-Alexander remarked, “It doesn’t feel real.” So many hours. So many times. So many feelings. Many nights of incredulity. So many nights of faith. We’re all here, which is ridiculous, but this group earned it. We deserve this because this team worked hard.
The Thunder concluded an unforgettable season with 20 points from Jalen Williams and 18 from Chet Holmgren.
Oklahoma City tied the 1996–97 Chicago Bulls for third place in any season with 84 victories throughout the regular season and the playoffs.
The Bulls (87 in 2015-16) and Golden State (88 in 2016–17) were the only teams with more victories.
This is the franchise’s second championship.
After winning the NBA championship in 1979, the Seattle SuperSonics relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008. Oklahoma City has nothing in the rafters to honor that title.
A championship banner will eventually arrive in October. A banner of Thunder.
Despite losing Haliburton to what his father claimed was an Achilles tendon injury around seven minutes into the game, the Pacers were ahead 48-47 at the half.
However, the Thunder took a 13-point lead and started to dominate the third quarter, outscoring them 34–20.
Indiana, which has yet to win an NBA championship, had 24 points and 13 rebounds from Bennedict Mathurin.
With leads of 1-0 and 2-1 in the series, the Pacers, who were 10-15 after 25 games and vying to become the first team in NBA history to overcome such a poor start into a title, just didn’t have enough in the end.
Home teams’ record in NBA Finals Game 7s improved to 16–4. Additionally, the Thunder had a run of parity unlike any other in NBA history, being the seventh champion in the previous seven seasons.
Milwaukee won in 2021, Golden State in 2022, Pacers forward Thomas Bryant and Denver won in 2023, Boston won last year’s championship, and Pacers forward Pascal Siakam was a member of the Toronto team that won in 2019. Thunder guard Alex Caruso was a member of the Los Angeles Lakers team that won in the pandemic bubble in 2020.
The Thunder now get their chance. The NBA peak has been reached by the youngest squad to win a championship in almost 50 years.
In the 12 seasons under NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, the Thunder are the ninth team to win a championship.
In his 30 seasons as commissioner, his predecessor, David Stern, watched eight teams win championships.
They act like champs. According to Daigneault, a former Gators assistant and University of Florida alum, they compete like champs. They support one another’s accomplishments, which is uncommon in professional sports. I’m going to reiterate something I’ve said numerous times. They are a unique team that has won a championship.
