On a deafening night at Paycom Center, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led his young, hungry Thunder squad to a 103–91 victory over the Indiana Pacers in Game 7, delivering Oklahoma City its first NBA championship since the franchise moved from Seattle in 2008 — and its first major professional sports title, ever.
Gilgeous-Alexander, already the 2025 NBA MVP and scoring champion, added Finals MVP to his trophy cabinet after a 29-point, 12-assist masterpiece that put an exclamation mark on a historic season for the 26-year-old Canadian guard.
“This is for everyone who stuck with us,” said Gilgeous-Alexander. “It doesn’t feel real — but we worked, we bled, and we believed.”
The Moment Oklahoma Waited 17 Years For
Oklahoma City was electric, pulsing with anticipation as fans flooded the streets and rocked the arena with every defensive stand, every Gilgeous-Alexander jumper, every Jalen Williams slash to the rim. Williams added 20 points, while Chet Holmgren delivered 18 points and 8 rebounds, anchoring a defensive unit that locked down the Pacers when it mattered most.
The turning point came in the third quarter — a 34–20 Thunder run sparked by back-to-back-to-back threes from the team’s rising trio: Gilgeous-Alexander, Holmgren, and Williams. The Pacers had tied the game at 56-56, but Oklahoma City’s young core erupted, and the game never tilted back.
A Cruel Twist: Haliburton Injured Early
The Finals finale was marred by heartbreak for Indiana as Tyrese Haliburton, their All-Star floor general and the engine of their miraculous playoff run, exited just seven minutes in with a non-contact injury. Driving into the lane, Haliburton collapsed, slapped the hardwood in agony, and was later diagnosed with a suspected Achilles injury.
“All of our hearts dropped,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said postgame. “Tyrese believed. He stayed with us at halftime. He’ll be back. But tonight… it hurts.”
Indiana fought bravely behind TJ McConnell (16 points, 6 assists) and Bennedict Mathurin, who trimmed a 22-point deficit to 12 late in the fourth, but they lacked the final punch without their leader.
A Dynasty in the Making?
The Thunder, with an average age of just 25.6, are the youngest team to win the Finals since the 1977 Trail Blazers. Led by head coach Mark Daigneault, OKC completed a 68-win season — a stunning rise for a team that won just 22 games four years ago.
“They behave like champions. They compete like champions. Now, they are champions,” said Daigneault, just 40 himself. “All we had to do was be who we are.”
Gilgeous-Alexander joins elite company as only the fourth player in NBA history — after Shaquille O’Neal, Michael Jordan, and Stephen Curry — to win MVP, scoring title, and Finals MVP in the same season.
Oklahoma’s Basketball Resurrection
Once a small-market underdog, the Thunder franchise, born from the ashes of Seattle’s SuperSonics, has transformed into a league powerhouse. They built through the draft, bet on their youth, and never wavered in their identity.
From heartbreak in the Kevin Durant-Russell Westbrook era to this redemption story, Oklahoma City has finally climbed the mountain.
“We’re just getting started,” Gilgeous-Alexander promised. “This is the first one. But we’ve got more in us.”
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