After pursuing the goal for several years and confirming that they were the best team of the 2024-2025 season of the NBA, the Oklahoma City Thunder were crowned champions after defeating the Indiana Pacers 103-89 in Game 7, the final game of the series.
It was the first time since 2016, when LeBron James’ Cavaliers were champions over the Golden State Warriors, that the NBA Finals did not reach a seventh game.
This way, the Thunder achieve their first title since they were established in Oklahoma City in 2008, while the Pacers, a team from a state where basketball is lived with great passion, will have to keep waiting for their first NBA championship.
Halyburton’s injury was key in the match
Indiana suffered a major blow in the first quarter with the exit of Tyrese Haliburton, who suffered a serious injury while trying to evade the mark of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: he fell without contact from the opponent and started crying while hitting the floor.
It was later reported that the Pacers player suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in his right leg.
Despite that loss, Indiana continued to fight in the game and even took the lead 48-47 at the end of the first half.
Finally, the Pacers’ tenacity waned around the middle of the third quarter when the Thunder started to pull away on the scoreboard and never looked back. Even in the final quarter, they had a lead of 22 points. Although with 2:16 left to play, Indiana cut the deficit to 10 points, Oklahoma City’s victory was never in jeopardy.
The best player for the Thunder was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 29 points and was also named the MVP of the Finals. SGA became the first player since LeBron James in 2013 to win the MVP of the season and the Finals in the same year.
First championship in history?
The franchise was born as the Seattle Supersonics in 1967, and in 1979 they won their first NBA championship.
In 2006, the team was sold to businessman Clay Bennett who made little effort to keep it in Seattle and in 2008 he took it to his hometown of Oklahoma City, where he changed the name to Thunder, and the colors from green to blue.
The departure from Seattle was very unfriendly, with several lawsuits involved, therefore the past as the Supersonics is something that Oklahoma City wants to forget. However, officially, the title that the Thunder achieved this Sunday is the second in the franchise’s history, no matter how much they talk about it being the first in OKC.