Oklahoma City, through the unimaginable ups and downs of its short time as a franchise, has finally won an NBA Championship.
The Thunder closed out the Pacers at home with a 103-91 victory in Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers.
The Tyrese Haliburton Achilles injury took the steam and air out of the building and the game, but the Thunder took control of the second half and finally captured that NBA title that many Oklahoma City legends past couldn’t quite reach.
Thunder’s Stars, Bench Stepped up in the Biggest Game of their Lives
Turnovers forced, offensive rebounds becoming baskets after misses and, wouldn’t you know it, the Thunder couldn’t miss forever and finally made some shots, too, at one point going on a 20-2 sprint that put them up 90-68, a run not extinguished until Pascal Siakam hit a jumper with 7:29 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Pacers first points of the final frame.
They just did it. They just took it.
Of course, Gilgeous-Alexander was named MVP.
How could he not have been after scoring 29 points and averaging 30.2 points over the length of the NBA Finals? Additionally, he made only 8 of 27 shots, which was somewhat impressive because it meant that many other contributions became necessary.
Like Gilgeous-Alexander himself, finishing with a series-high 12 assists. Like the three steals corralled by Dort, Cason Wallace, and Alex Caruso, too.
Holmgren finished with five blocks — three in the fourth quarter — one of them right after Indiana had turned OKC’s 22-point edge into a 12-point edge with almost five full minutes still to play. Like the whole roster taking care of the ball to the tune of just seven turnovers, 14 fewer than the Pacers gave back, and 10 fewer after the half, when OKC committed only three to Indiana’s 13.
There’s a good chance those numbers aren’t so lopsided had it not been for Tyrese Haliburton, once again tempting fate attempting to play through a strained calf, suffering a ruptured Achilles tendon and leaving the game for good (and who knows how much of next season) with 4:55 left in the first quarter.
And, good chance Indiana, the whole state, will long wonder what might have been had Haliburton not lost the injury lottery one game after winning it big in Game 6, sending the series back to Oklahoma City.
As noted by Rob Perez, OKC just set four notable NBA records:
Thunder Looking Good to Contend for a Long Time
The Thunder are looking to break the trend of championship teams not being able to repeat. The previous six champions never came close as none even returned to the Conference Finals.
Unlike past champions, the Thunder will be the youngest to take on the mantle. They will have to survive injuries and lulls throughout the season, too, to go back-to-back.
They are also young, as has been stated all season. Their starters as of today are 27, 26, 26, 24, and 23. And they should be contending for a while.
Some teams enter next season with major question marks, unlike OKC:
- Jayson Tatum, Damian Lillard, and Tyrese Haliburton will all likely miss the season with Achilles injuries.
- Kevin Durant’s trade to Houston will raise questions about how he fits into their system.
- LeBron James is entering his 23rd season, and if the Lakers can build properly around him and Luka.
- Stephen Curry is turning 38 in the upcoming season.
- The Knicks are dealing with coaching changes.
- The 76ers are once again putting their hope in Joel Embiid staying healthy.
The Thunder are most likely to run it back with perhaps a few minor roster tweaks. They have the reigning NBA Finals MVP, regular season MVP, and scoring champion in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, an All-NBA and All-Defense selection in Jalen Williams, and a second overall pick who’s turning into a defensive monster right in front of our eyes, in Chet Holmgren.
They also have a lottery pick from last year’s draft that is set to make his return in Nikola Topić, along with a treasure trove of draft picks.
This team has an embarrassment of riches, and the narrative of “they’re too young” has now turned into “they’re young champions“.
When NBA commissioner Adam Silver handed the Larry O’Brien Trophy to Thunder owner Clay Bennett, he lifted it as high as he could, and in less than a second, the players’ hands were on it, too, and a second after that, only they were holding it.
When they handed Gilgeous-Alexander the Bill Russell Finals MVP trophy, he said it belonged to Williams just as much, and a few seconds later, Williams was holding it in the air himself.
Unselfishness, lack of ego, team first, right to the end, right to the title. Finally, they were themselves. And the rest is history.
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