The Thunder is within snatching distance of the Larry O’Brien trophy — a 30-pound chunk of gold and silver that only the greatest teams can clutch.
After a momentous Game 5 victory against the Pacers on Monday night in Oklahoma City, the Thunder has two shots at grabbing basketball’s ultimate prize.
The Thunder can clinch the NBA championship in Game 6 Thursday night in Indianapolis. Should the never-die Pacers stave off elimination, the series will come back to Oklahoma City for Game 7 on Sunday. A chance for the Thunder to close things out on its home court.
Here’s what a championship would mean.
Completion. After trading away Paul George and Russell Westbrook in the summer of 2019, Sam Presti outlined a plan to build “the next great Thunder team.” It happened sooner than anyone could imagine. “Oklahoma City expects, and deserves, extraordinary success,” the Thunder GM wrote six summers ago. “Delivering this is what drives us.” Presti delivered, all right. He constructed two championship-caliber teams a decade apart. Presti, who’s been in this job since he was 29, long ago proved his bona fides as a team-building genius. As one of the best, most brilliant sports executives this century. The only line missing from his resume is a championship. Winning one would mean completion. A job well done.
Basketball immortality. A month shy of his 27th birthday, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander would become the 15th player to win the MVP award and an NBA title in the same season. Each of the previous 14 made the NBA’s 75th anniversary team. We’re witnessing one of the best individual campaigns ever — regular season and playoffs combined. With a championship, Gilgeous-Alexander would leapfrog Russell Westbrook as the greatest Thunder ever. There will never be another No. 2 in Thunder history. His jersey will one day hang from the rafters of the Thunder’s new arena.
Eternal respect. For the misery he’s made Tyrese Haliburton endure. For the timely 3-pointers (did you know Lu Dort is 14 of 24 (58%) from 3 this series?). For the path Dort took to get here. From Montreal to Arizona State. From an undrafted free agent with a shaky jumper to an all-world defender with a knack for splashing timely 3-pointers. SGA and Dort saw the rebuild through from start to finish. Dort will solidify his place on the short list of all-time Thunder players.
Step 1. After being sidelined with a foot injury for the entirety of his first pro season, and after losing more than half of this season due to a fractured hip, Chet Holmgren, 23, is only scratching the surface of what he could become. His offensive game needs plenty of refinement — his dribble is too loose, his jump shot too flat, his drives too aimless — but the wreckage he’s causing on the defensive end has helped shift the series in the Thunder’s favor. The fully-formed version of Chet is still years away. How frightening is that?
Different questions being asked of him. No longer will any of us wonder if Jalen Williams has the makings of a true second option on a championship team. Safe to say he’s answered that one. J-Dub has played phenomenal two-way basketball, really since Game 7 of the Denver series. He was excellent in the conference finals against Minnesota, and his 40-point Game 5 against Indiana was a prodigious performance. Can he be the second-best player on a title team? He’s about to show us.
An improbable achievement in an inimitable career arc. From a student manager at UConn, to a personal assistant to Billy Donovan at Florida, to a G League coach to an NBA champion head coach. Mark Daigneault will have guided the Thunder from the depths of a rebuild to championship peak. Maybe he’s onto something with that whole “zero and zero” mentality.
A reward for good ownership. Clay Bennett isn’t a meddler. He hires smart people, Presti chief among them, to make smart decisions. And then Bennett largely stays out of the way, watching all of the wins from his front row spot on the baseline by the Thunder’s bench. Many of Bennett’s big-headed colleagues could learn from his hands-off approach.
For the rebuilders …
Knowing they had a role in the process. The Darius Bazleys and Theo Maledons played a part in this. Same goes for Isaiah Roby and Vit Krejci. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Mike Muscala. Moses Brown and Jaylen Hoard. Gabriel Deck and Georgios Kalaitzakis. Even you, Poku.
For Oklahoma City …
International recognition as home to the best basketball team on the planet. A beacon of hope to other small markets. A crowning achievement in the city’s brief history. Everlasting civic pride.
For the Thunder …
Accomplishment. Winning a championship is so hard.
For the rest of the NBA …
Buckle in. This might only be the beginning.
Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at jmussatto@oklahoman.com. Support Joe’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.