The Oklahoma City Thunder won its first NBA title in franchise history on Sunday night, 103–91, in Game 7 against the Indiana Pacers.
Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous‑Alexander scored 29 points and dished 12 assists while center Chet Holmgren added 18 points, eight rebounds, and an NBA Finals Game 7 record of five blocks to help lead the team to a low-scoring victory.
This matchup felt like one for the ages in the first few minutes of the first quarter, but an injury to Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton after just seven minutes put Indiana at a major disadvantage for the remainder of the game.
Haliburton, who had been dealing with a calf strain since Game 5, fell to the ground with a noncontact injury after scoring nine points to lead the Pacers, with the team almost immediately ruling him out with an Achilles injury.
Indiana kept the game close through the first half, heading into halftime with a one-point lead; however, the Thunder quickly reclaimed the lead in the third quarter due to a combination of physical defense and hot shooting.
Oklahoma City finished the third quarter with a 13-point lead and extended this lead to 22 points in the fourth quarter. The Pacers were unable to come within 10 points in the final quarter of the game.
Gilgeous‑Alexander was awarded the NBA Finals MVP award after averaging an impressive 30.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 5.6 assists across the seven-game series.
The 26-year-old guard said after the game that it “doesn’t feel real” to have accomplished this goal, noting that it felt like a weight off his shoulders.
“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,” he said, per ESPN.
This award makes Gilgeous‑Alexander the first player in 25 years to lead the league in scoring while also being named the NBA MVP and NBA Finals MVP.
Oklahoma City’s winning this championship comes as no surprise following a dominant regular season. The team finished with a record of 68-14 while claiming the first seed in the Western Conference.
As a whole, Oklahoma City finished the 2024-25 season with a total record of 84-21, joining the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors (88-18), 1995-96 Chicago Bulls (87-13) and ’96-97 Bulls (84-17) as the only teams to complete this feat in NBA history.
The Thunder also finished the season with the sixth-highest point differential of all time at 11.8, becoming just the sixth team to finish with a differential over 10 points per game to win the NBA Championship, according to the NBA.
This team and its fans are now set to celebrate this championship in style. A parade is scheduled to take place on Tuesday morning at 10:30 a.m., and a crowd of more than 500,000 is expected.