Subscribe
×
The Oklahoma City Thunder have done it.
After seven intense games, two generational performances, and one brutal injury, the Thunder are 2025 NBA champions! Their first title since the franchise moved from Seattle to Oklahoma, and one that might mark the start of something even bigger.
Sunday’s 103–91 win over the Indiana Pacers capped off a historic season for OKC, a team that won 68 regular season games, shattered the all-time record for average point differential, and entered the postseason with both the league’s No. 1 defense and the league MVP.
The narrative was written, but the journey wasn’t guaranteed.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Finals MVP feels like the final stamp on one of the most complete individual campaigns in recent memory. He averaged 30.3 points per game in the series, and even though he shot just 8-of-27 in Game 7, he still dropped 29 points with 12 assists, 2 blocks, and a steal. And he got to the line — 11-of-12 on free throws, closing out like the alpha he’s become.
That performance gave him a rare trifecta: regular-season MVP, scoring title, and Finals MVP, a feat we haven’t seen in 25 years. Add that to his streak of 72 straight 20-point games and four 50-pieces this season, and SGA has gone from star to legend in the space of nine months.
His backcourt chemistry with Jalen Williams, who added 20 points and two steals in Game 7 (and a 40-point game earlier in the series), was the defining energy of OKC’s offense. And with Chet Holmgren holding down the interior with 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 blocks, the Thunder’s core three showed that they’re not just young — they’re elite.
This series was almost something else entirely.
The Pacers were seconds from taking a 3–1 series lead back in Game 4. They had erased massive deficits in multiple games and had already stunned the Thunder in Game 1 on a Haliburton game-winner. Their comeback credentials were historic: five 15-point playoff comebacks and three wins after trailing by 7+ in the final minute but everything changed early in Game 7.
Tyrese Haliburton, who had been battling a calf strain, went down with what looked like a devastating non-contact Achilles injury in the first quarter. Indiana led 18–16 when he fell. He had already hit three 3-pointers and looked locked in. His absence changed everything.
To Indiana’s credit, they didn’t fold. Bennedict Mathurin dropped 24 off the bench, T.J. McConnell added 16, and the Pacers even led at halftime. But OKC’s defense (23 forced turnovers for 32 points) and relentless pace proved too much.
The Pacers, one win shy of their first-ever NBA title, walk away with heartbreak — but also belief. The blueprint they’re following isn’t so different from OKC’s: draft well, run hard, defend harder, and build a team that genuinely enjoys playing together.
They’re the second-youngest NBA champions of the last 70 years (average age: 25.56). Every rotation player is under contract next season. They have 13 first-round picks in the next seven years. And they have a lottery pick, Nikola Topić, waiting to join the rotation after missing the season with injury.
And at the heart of it is a culture built on defense, player development, and something players like Jalen Williams, Luguentz Dort, and SGA kept repeating in postgame interviews: trust and chemistry.
“The new trend is kind of what we’re doing… young guys get out and run, defend and use the power of friendship.” — Myles Turner
Call it cheesy if you want, but it’s working.
This is the seventh different champion in the last seven yearsthe longest stretch without a repeat winner in NBA history. But OKC feels different. They didn’t buy their way to a title. They built it, from the Paul George trade to the Dort signing to the smart draft-night moves.
If you’re looking for a modern dynasty in the making, this is it.
And while Indiana’s future now hinges on the severity of Haliburton’s injury, they’ve earned their place as one of the league’s most dangerous, fast-paced, and fearless teams.
