After years of rumbling, the Thunder struck on the game’s highest stage.

Larry belongs to OKC – your 2024-25 NBA champions.

5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀

June 23, 2025

OKC Champions: SGA, defense lead Thunder to first title of the OKC era

SGA’s Triple Crown: “One of the greatest seasons that’s ever been had by a player”

Historic Climb: A three-year rise unlike any other – capped by an all-time season

Inside The Celebration: From the court to the locker room, the Thunder party is on

Game 7 Frames: Capturing the drama of Game 7 & title celebration in OKC

1. THUNDER TAKE GAME 7, WIN FIRST TITLE OF OKC ERA

With a championship hanging in the balance in a thrilling Game 7 battle, two pillars of the Thunder’s historic season carried them to the first title of the OKC era:

• League MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and
• A swarming defense that led the NBA all season long

Thunder 103, Pacers 91: SGA led all players with 29 points and a Playoff career-high 12 assists, while OKC’s defense forced 21 turnovers and converted them into 32 points as the Thunder pulled away in the 2nd half and held off one final Indy comeback to win Game 7 at home. | Recap

• “So many hours. So many moments. So many emotions. So many nights of disbelief. So many nights of belief.
• “It’s crazy to know that we’re all here, but this group worked for it. This group put in the hours and we deserve this.” – SGA after being named Finals MVP

All that work was almost for naught as the Thunder went into halftime trailing by one. The second-youngest team to reach the Finals in the shot-clock era had 24 minutes to determine their season.

• The Message: “Just keep doing the things that were getting us there all season. So, playing hard defensively, trying to get stops, taking it one possession at a time.” – said Jalen Williams of OKC’s halftime
• Slow Start, Strong Finish: After scoring five points apiece in the 1st half, Williams (20 pts, 4 ast, 2 stl) and Chet Holmgren (18 pts, 8 reb, Finals Game 7-record 5 blk) came up huge in the 2nd half on both ends of the court

Indiana’s Myles Turner hit a 3 with 8:32 left in the 3rd quarter that tied the game at 56-56.

It was the 10th tie in a back-and-forth contest that had already seen 11 lead changes with neither team leading by more than five points.

Then OKC struck, hitting Indiana with three key bursts to build an insurmountable advantage.

Strike 1: After Turner’s 3, SGA orchestrated a 9-0 run in just 60 seconds. It began with a stepback 3 of his own. Then a drive-and-kick to Holmgren for a right wing 3. Then a spin move to get into the paint for a kick out to Williams for a left wing 3. Timeout Pacers

Strike 2: After T.J. McConnell’s jumper cut the lead to four with 3:54 left in the 3rd, OKC closed the quarter with an 11-2 run. Seven of those 11 points came off three Pacers turnovers, with the Paycom Center erupting with each defense-to-offense score

Strike 3: The Thunder didn’t let up, opening the 4th quarter with a 9-0 run for their largest lead since Game 2. SGA got it started with his final 3 of the game before dishing out his final two assists of the season – a Wallace layup and a Williams 3

Of course, the Pacers weren’t done. They thrived on pulling off inconceivable comebacks all postseason long.

They weren’t going down without a fight, even with star guard Tyrese Haliburton in the locker room after exiting the game in the 1st quarter with a lower leg injury.

• The Pacers outscored the Thunder 16-4 over the next 5+ minutes to make it a 10-point game with 2:32 to play, but Indiana would get no closer
• After McConnell led the Pacers in the 3rd quarter, the final push came from fellow Game 3 hero Bennedict Mathurin, who scored 16 of his team-high 24 points in the 4th
• “It really hurts on the one hand,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “On the other hand, this team has given all of Pacer Nation something to be very proud of.”
• “That team is going to be really good for a long time. Impressive team, impressive player.” – SGA on the Pacers and Haliburton

In the end, the combination of SGA and OKC’s defense – which held Indy to a series-low 91 points to improve to 28-0 when holding opponents to 100 points or less this season – was too much to overcome.

2. SGA WINS FINALS MVP: COMPLETES HISTORIC TRIPLE CROWN

Jesse D. Garrabrant /NBAE via Getty Images

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Michael Jordan. Shaquille O’Neal.

For the first 78 NBA seasons, those were the only three players in league history to win the Kia NBA MVP, scoring title and Finals MVP in the same year.

Now, there’s a fourth — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

• “At the end of the day, that is going to go down in history as one of the greatest seasons that’s ever been had by a player,” said Chet Holmgren on SGA postgame.
• “But it’s never about him. It’s always about us. Always about winning.”

On basketball’s biggest stage — with Indiana throwing everything it had at him and the pressure at its peak — the man who famously once said, “My whole life is consistent,” delivered steady, clutch performances night after night to power his team to a title.

• Historic Open: After falling into a 1-0 hole, SGA responded with 34 points in Game 2 to even the series — finishing his first two career Finals games with an NBA-record 72 points
• MVP Moment: Facing a potential 3-1 series deficit – a hole only one team in Finals history has climbed out of – Shai took over late in Game 4, scoring 15 of his game-high 35 points in the final 4:38 to even the series again
• Championship Close: He followed that with 31 points in Game 5, then poured in 29 along with 12 dimes in Game 7 to seal the title and claim the Bill Russell Finals MVP trophy

Jesse D. Garrabrant /NBAE via Getty Images

The Shai Way: Sunday marked SGA’s 86th game this season with 25+ points – tying Kevin Durant’s 2014 Thunder MVP campaign for the second-most in a single season.

But putting up points is only part of what SGA does. He’s a playmaker, a stopper, a metronome of excellence – and now, three letters etched alongside three legends.

• Finals Force: Only two players have averaged 30+ points, 5+ assists, 4+ rebounds, 1.5+ steals and 1.5+ blocks in a Finals – Hakeem Olajuwon in 1995 and now, Shai (30.3 pts, 5.6 ast, 4.6 reb, 1.9 stl, 1.6 blk)
• Playoff Peak: Just two players have posted 650+ points, 100+ boards and 150+ assists in a single postseason – LeBron James in 2018 and now, Shai
• Season Summit: And only two players have totaled 3,100+ points, 500+ rebounds and 600+ assists across a single regular season and postseason – Michael Jordan in 1988-89 and now, Shai

But like so many greats before him, SGA didn’t do it alone.

Dynamic duos have long shined on the Finals stage. And while Shai brought home the Finals MVP, he made sure to share the moment with his co-star who helped make it possible – Jalen Williams.

• Together, they combined for 377 points in the series, passing MJ and Scottie Pippen (1993) for the second-most by a Finals duo in the last 50 years, while trailing only LeBron James and Kyrie Irving (2016)
• “Jalen Williams is a once-in-a-lifetime player,” said Shai after receiving the MVP. “Without him, without his performances, without his big-time moments … we don’t win this championship. This is just as much my MVP as it is his.”

With that, Shai passed the Bill Russell Trophy to Williams, who hoisted it atop the championship stage – a reminder of what the MVP is all about:

Never himself, always ‘us,’ always winning.

3. A HISTORIC CLIMB: OKC’S PLACE AMONG THE ALL-TIME BEST

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Twenty-four.

That’s how many games the Thunder won in 2021-22, finishing 14th in the West.

That summer, their rising star – a 23-year-old named Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – didn’t flinch. He leaned in.

• “I know what I signed up for when I signed a 5-year extension (in 2021),” said SGA that summer. “And I don’t think we’re gonna be losing for much longer. I believe in this team.”

He was right.

Over the next three seasons, OKC increased its win total by double digits each year — a feat achieved by just two other teams in NBA history.

• Rise Up: From 24 wins in 2021-22 to 40 wins in 2022-23 (+16), to 57 wins in 2023-24 (+17) & a team-record 68 wins in 2024-25 (+11)

Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images

Thunderstruck: OKC’s 68 regular-season wins weren’t just a franchise record – they came with a +12.9 point differential, the best in NBA history, highlighting one of the most dominant regular seasons the league has ever witnessed.

• Unmatched Consistency: OKC held first place for 140 straight days (Nov. 25 to Apr. 13) and won the West by 16 games — the largest margin since 2000
• Unyielding Clamps: While SGA powered the offense, OKC’s identity began with defense – finishing first in steals, forced turnovers, points off turnovers, opponent FG% and defensive rating
• All-Time Company: That led to an NBA-best 68 regular season wins – a feat only six other teams have accomplished in league history, and just one this century: the 2015-16 Warriors (73-9)

But championships aren’t won in the regular season.

It’s the Playoffs where teams earn their place in basketball immortality – where records turn to rings, and numbers into legacy.

For OKC, that legacy began by doubling down on its identity.

• Locked In: After posting an NBA-best 106.6 defensive rating in the regular season, OKC locked down even tighter in the Playoffs, improving to 105.7
• Historic Hands: It also totaled 247 steals this postseason – the most in a single Playoff run since steals were first tracked in 1974
• Relentless Depth: That includes five players (Alex Caruso, SGA, Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace, Lu Dort) with 25+ steals
• Chaos Creation: That top-to-bottom pressure led to 521 points off turnovers this postseason – the most since the NBA began tracking play-by-play data in 1998

Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images

But it’s not just defense that defines OKC – it’s resilience.

There’s a saying in sports, ‘true character is revealed not in victory, but in defeat.’

No team embodied that more than the 2024-25 Thunder.

• Always Answering: In its 105 total games this season, OKC lost just 21 times. Its record after those defeats? 19-2 (90.5%) – the highest win percentage following a loss in NBA history
• Playoff Perfect: That included a 6-0 mark this postseason entering Sunday’s Game 7, where the Thunder had to respond once more to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy

They did, improving to 7-0 after losses in the Playoffs for 84 total wins on the season – a feat only four other teams have accomplished in NBA history.

But only three teams have done it and ended their season on top.

The 1996 and ‘97 Bulls – and now…

The 2025 Oklahoma City Thunder.

4. INSIDE OKC’S CHAMPIONSHIP CELEBRATION

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With 32 seconds left, OKC coach Mark Daigneault emptied his bench with the Thunder up 15 and the game finally in hand.

The celebration was underway as the final seconds ticked away until the final buzzer sounded and the OKC Thunder were officially NBA champions for the first time.

A day that began with anticipation, nerves and pressure had shifted to unbridled joy.

Players let their emotions take over as the moment began to sink in – a journey that began in October had culminated in a championship in June.

Once the trophies were presented, it was time to head to the locker room. Walk with SGA – with the Bill Russell Finals MVP Award in hand – as he reflected on the accomplishment: “This is insane.”

367 days ago, OKC acquired 2020 champion Alex Caruso via trade – a veteran to pass along hard-earned wisdom to his young new teammates.

• Lessons like how to open a champagne bottle after winning the first title in OKC history
• Once the bottles were open, the champagne showers began

Jesse D. Garrabrant /NBAE via Getty Images

In addition to sharing that locker room moment as teammates, the Thunder also celebrated the accomplishment with their loved ones.

• Jalen Williams hugged his family – and answered questions from younger brother Cody of the Utah Jazz
• SGA held his son, Ares, as the confetti fell to the court. Then, when it came time for a family photo, Ares was all about the gold
• MVP Signs Off: SGA officially wrapped the 2024-25 NBA season as he rolled out

5. GAME 7 FRAMES: CAPTURING AN EPIC NIGHT IN OKC

The 20th Game 7 in NBA Finals history delivered everything a season finale should be – drama, intensity and a battle for the ages.

Check out some of our favorite frames that capture the electricity and emotion of Sunday’s winner-take-all showdown – and the moments the Thunder will never forget.

Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images

Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images

Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images

Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images