It’s official. The Oklahoma City Thunder are the 2025 NBA Champions, beating the Indiana Pacers in a seven-game series to cap off one of the most successful seasons in NBA history.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the usual suspect, leading the way for the Oklahoma City Thunder with his 29 points, while Chet Holmgren came up big on the offensive end with 18 points.
Jalen Williams rounded up the young trio with his 20 points, and Gilgeous-Alexander etched his name among the marquee few to win the regular season MVP and the Finals MVP award. Tyrese Haliburton’s injury was a dampener on things but Gilgeous-Alexander deserves immense credit.
However, all his praise after the game was directed towards one player, whom he gave the ultimate compliment by calling him a “once in a lifetime” player.
The Thunder have effectively broken the modern NBA in the best possible way because they’ve won the title at a young age without sacrificing their future.
A big reason why that has happened is because Sam Presti drafted extremely well, with his picks of Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams, and Holmgren all panning out.
After taking in the championship victory, Gilgeous-Alexander was asked about what makes this team special.
While he ensured that he gave the flowers to all of his teammates, he reserved the ultimate compliment for Jalen Williams, the 12th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, who has exceeded all expectations.
Gilgeous-Alexander said: “[Jalen Williams] is a once-in-a-lifetime player. Without him, his moments, his shot-making, his defending, we don’t win the championship. We’re etched in the scoring book together [as one of the top-scoring duos in the NBA Finals series].”
The NBA throwing up new champions pretty much every season falls right in line with Adam Silver’s ideal world of parity in the league.
However, the Thunder might be best-placed to end that parity and start their dynasty.
Not only do they already have a championship team, but they can easily add more exciting prospects or a superstar or two to this team.
Their draft capital is second to none, Sam Presti has already proved his drafting prowess, and the team is young enough that it can go on for a while yet, even without additions.
The Golden State Warriors were the last big dynasty, and they needed to hit on draft picks with Curry, Thompson, and Green.
The Thunder have hit similarly on Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams, and Holmgren. A dynasty is coming and it will be well-deserved.
A “small-market” team has done things the right way and toppled over the giants in the traditional sense of the word.
