How OKC Thunder won first NBA title: Relive playoff run by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander & Co.
Who won the NBA Finals? The Oklahoma City Thunder. That's who.
It took seven grueling games against Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers, but the Thunder broke through to win its first NBA championship.
Advertisement
With MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading the way, OKC won a NBA-best 68 games in the regular season and had the largest point differential (+12.87) in league history. The Thunder became the second-youngest team to win the title.
Here's how the Thunder beat the Pacers for the championship:
Celebrate Thunder's title with these keepsakes
NBA Playoffs: Thunder vs. Timberwolves | Western Conference finals
NBA Playoffs: Thunder vs. Nuggets | Western Conference semifinals
NBA Playoffs: Thunder vs. Grizzlies | Western Conference first round
Advertisement
Jeff Patterson is the sports editor for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Jeff? He can be reached at jpatterson@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @jeffpattOKC. Support Jeff's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com .
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: How OKC Thunder won first NBA championship: See full playoff results
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Boston Globe
27 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Spurs, De'Aaron Fox agree to four-year, $228m extension, AP source says
The move was expected after the Spurs made a big splash at the trade deadline last season by getting Fox from the Kings. Fox has career averages of 21.5 points and 6.1 assists in eight NBA seasons. He averaged 19.7 points and 6.8 assists in 17 games with the Spurs last season. Fox missed the final 18 games due to surgery to repair the extensor tendon in his left pinkie finger. Advertisement The Spurs, with Fox, Victor Wembanyama, rookie of the year Stephon Castle, and this year's No. 2 pick Dylan Harper, appear poised to be a challenger in the Western Conference. AP Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds contributed to this report.


USA Today
27 minutes ago
- USA Today
Ime Udoka, Fred VanVleet traveled to Turkey to work with Rockets star Alperen Sengun
With Alperen Sengun spending more time than usual in Turkey in the 2025 offseason, the Rockets sent even more big names there to work with him. All-Star center Alperen Sengun spends at least a portion of each NBA offseason in his native Turkey. He typically still works out and does basketball activities in the gym during that time, but it's an opportunity for the 23-year-old to be surrounded by family and friends from his homeland for at least a few weeks. In the 2025 offseason, however, the Rockets star is spending a bit more time at home due to his inclusion on Turkey's FIBA EuroBasket 2025 squad (which opens play later this month). So, rather than waiting for Sengun to eventually return to his NBA home, Houston is sending its leadership to him. As shown in photos posted on the team's official social media accounts, head coach Ime Udoka and starting point guard Fred VanVleet each recently spent time with Sengun in a Turkish gym. It's nothing too out of the ordinary. In past offseasons, it was typically an assistant coach from the Rockets that went to visit Sengun in Turkey. But with expectations higher than ever after the Kevin Durant trade and Sengun's timeline for returning to the United States delayed due to the EuroBasket competition, the Rockets sent even bigger names to Turkey in 2025. The hope is that it allows Sengun, VanVleet, and the rest of their teammates on the 2025-26 Rockets to hit the ground running when training camps open around October 1. In 2024-25, Sengun averaged 19.1 points and a career-high 10.3 rebounds in earning his first career All-Star honors. Houston went 52-30 and finished at No. 2 in the Western Conference standings, and Sengun led the Rockets in rebounding while finishing second in scoring and assists on a per-game basis. More: Rockets star Alperen Sengun to play for Turkey in FIBA EuroBasket 2025


USA Today
27 minutes ago
- USA Today
Brooklyn Nets jersey history No. 21 - Wilson Chandler (2019-20)
The Brooklyn Nets have 52 jersey numbers worn by over 600 different players over the course of their history since the franchise was founded in 1967 as a charter member of the American Basketball Association (ABA), when the team was known as the "New Jersey Americans". Since then, that league has been absorbed by the NBA with the team that would later become the New York Nets and New Jersey Nets before settling on the name by which they are known today, bringing their rich player and jersey history with them to the league of today. To commemorate the players who played for the Nets over the decades wearing those 52 different jersey numbers, Nets Wire is covering the entire history of the franchise's jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team. The 22nd of those 52 different numbers is jersey No. 21, which has has had a total of 26 players wear the number in the history of the team. The 23rd of those players wearing No. 21 played in the Brooklyn Nets era, wing alum Wilson Chandler. After ending his college career at DePaul, Chandler was picked up with the 23rd overall selection of the 2007 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks. The Benton Harbor, Michigan native also played for the Denver Nuggets, Philadelphia 76ers, and Los Angeles Clippers before he signed with Brooklyn in 2019 for the final season of his NBA career. During his time suiting up for the Nets, Chandler wore only jersey No. 21 and put up 5.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game. All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.