For the first time in franchise history, the Oklahoma City Thunder sit atop the (NBA) mountain as champions. Though it was a bittersweet ending (Tyrese Haliburton tore his Achilles’ in the 1st quarter) to a spectacular 7-game (Finals) series with Indiana, OKC ultimately earned their elusive title with a winning formula of lockdown defense & balanced contributions. Again, OKC’s depth played a major role - in Game 7, Alex Caruso & Cason Wallace teamed up to score (combined for 20 pts) and wreak havoc to the tune of six steals.
The pair, along with stars Jalen Williams & Chet Holmgren, helped offset a rough shooting night by MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. As great players go, however, SGA still made a tremendous mark even though his shot was off - he had a playoff career-high 12 dimes and helped distribute the ball very well (for open looks) during a key third quarter run that broke the game open.
Without Haliburton, the ever-resilient Pacers still fought hard. Led by TJ McConnell (10! 3Q points), Bennedict Mathurin & Andrew Nembhard, Indiana stayed within striking defense before OKC broke the game open in the second half. It’s obviously a brutal blow to lose your franchise player for a yearlong injury…while also losing Game 7 of the FINALS, but Pacers fans shouldn’t hang their heads. It was an incredible run and their young talent will only continue to get better after this experience.
SHAI GILGEOUS-ALEXANDER
2025 NBA FINALS MVP! • Avg. 30.3 ppg, 5.6 apg, 4.6 rpg
As for OKC (2nd youngest title winner since 1976-77), the term “mission accomplished” is a massive understatement. With a young MVP in SGA (27) & already stamped complementary stars in Chet & JDub, the entire team is way ahead of schedule. Coach Mark Daigneault’s development (and roster synergy) should t be understated either - his philosophy of mixing in damn near every player in the roster as a rotation threat ended up paying off. Daigneault’s quick ascension as a strategic coach who empowers his players is a formula that could help OKC repeat in 2026.
Back to the SGA for a second though, the 2025 Finals MVP. Shai somehow doesn’t get enough credit for how elite he is - now, that’s over with the expectation to get back to this level again and again…and again, we’ll see how he and the team respond. If recent history is any future indicator, SGA will be back in the Finals sooner rather than later.
Huge congrats to the NBA Champion-OKC Thunder. If all goes right (for them), we could repeating that same phrase a a few more times.
2024-25 OKC THUNDER
FINAL ROSTER 🏆
OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
2025 NBA CHAMPIONS!
SHAI GILGEOUS-ALEXANDER • DIFFERENT BREED, NBA CHAMPION, MVP, FINALS MVP, 3x All-NBA, 3x All-Star
JALEN WILLIAMS • TOP DOG, NBA CHAMPION, 1x All-NBA, 1x All-Star
CHET HOLMGREN • HYBRID, 2x NBA CHAMPION, GOLD MEDALIST, 2x All-Star
ALEX CARUSO • STAR UNDERDOG, 2x NBA CHAMPION, 1st-Team All-Defense
CASON WALLACE • UNDERDOG, NBA CHAMPION
ISAIAH HARTENSTEIN • UNDERDOG, NBA CHAMPION
AARON WIGGINS • UNDERDOG, NBA CHAMPION
KENRICH WILLIAMS • UNDERDOG, NBA CHAMPION
JAYLIN WILLIAMS • UNDERDOG, NBA CHAMPION
ISAIAH JOE • UNDERDOG, NBA CHAMPION
AJAY MITCHELL • ROOK, NBA CHAMPION
DILLON JONES • ROOK, NBA CHAMPION
OUSMANE DIENG • UNDERDOG, NBA CHAMPION
ADAM FLAGLER • UNDERDOG, NBA CHAMPION, 2WAY
BRANDEN CARLSON • 2WAY ROOK, NBA CHAMPION
ALEX DUCAS • 2WAY ROOK, NBA CHAMPION
NIKOLA TOPIĆ • ROOK, NBA CHAMPION