WE’LL TIME THESE STORMS IN HERE FOR YOU. COMING UP, JESS. DAMON. THANK YOU. THIS WEEKEND IN OKLAHOMA CITY, TWO MOMENTS COLLIDE. WE REMEMBER THE LIVES LOST IN THE OKLAHOMA CITY BOMBING. 168 PEOPLE, A CITY FORCED TO REBUILD. AND NOW, MORE THAN THREE DECADES LATER, THAT SAME CITY STEPS INTO THE SPOTLIGHT AS THE OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER BEGIN ANOTHER, LONG PLAYOFF RUN. KOCO KILEE THOMAS JOINING US LIVE ON WHAT IS GOING TO BE KYLIE A POWERFUL WEEKEND HERE IN OKC. AT 903, THIS CITY CHOSE TO KEEP GOING. NOW, 31 YEARS LATER, THAT SAME SPIRIT FILLS OUR ARENA AND IN A TEAM THAT’S QUICKLY BECOME PART OF OKC IDENTITY, OKLAHOMA CITY’S PAST AND PRESENT, GRIEF AND GROWTH ALL IN ONE FRAME. SHAY GILGEOUS ALEXANDER ARMS WIDE OPEN AND JOY DURING THE NBA CHAMPIONSHIP PARADE HAS BECOME A SYMBOL OF OKLAHOMA’S TRIUMPHANT REBIRTH FROM THE APRIL 19TH ATTACK IN OKLAHOMA CITY. TRAGEDY AND TRIUMPH ARE NOW TIED TOGETHER. THE BOMBING AND BASKETBALL BOTH SHAPING THE CITY’S IDENTITY. THE FACT THAT THE GAME IS ON APRIL 19TH IS NO COINCIDENCE. IT ALLOWS US TO REMEMBER IN THE MORNING AND CELEBRATE LIFE IN THE AFTERNOON. GAME ONE OF THE NBA PLAYOFFS FALLS ON APRIL 19TH, THE 31ST ANNIVERSARY OF THE ATTACK. FANS WEARING A GAME ONE THUNDERSHIRT WILL GET ONE FREE ADMISSION INTO THE MUSEUM FOR FREE THROUGH THE END OF APRIL. AT THE GAME, RONNIE FIELDS, A GUTHRIE PASTOR WHO LOST HIS MOM, CAROL, IN THE BOMBING, WILL DO THE INVOCATION. KERRY WATKINS, CEO OF THE OKLAHOMA CITY NATIONAL MEMORIAL MUSEUM, SAYS, THE WAY THIS COMMUNITY COMES TOGETHER NOW CARRIES THEIR MEMORY FORWARD. SAM PRESTI IN 2008 DECIDED TO BRING THE TEAM HERE EVERY YEAR. HE’S DONE IT SINCE AS THEY GET NEW PLAYERS AND NEW STAFF, WE BRING THEM THROUGH THE MUSEUM AND THIS WEEKEND, FROM REMEMBRANCE TO THE ROAR OF THE CROWD, THE OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER BECOME PART OF THAT TRIBUTE, A CITY HONORING ITS PAST WHILE STEPPING INTO ITS FUTURE. WHEN YOU LOOK AT 168 PEOPLE WHO WENT TO WORK NOT MOORE AND DIDN’T GET TO GO HOME, AND SO THE FACT THAT AS A COMMUNITY, WE CAN COME TOGETHER AND CELEBRATE LIFE CARRIES THEIR MEMORY FORWARD, AND WE’LL DO SOMETHING IN THE GAME TO CARRY THEIR MEMORY FORWARD. NOW, IF YOU CAN’T MAKE IT DOWN HERE SUNDAY MORNING FOR THE REMEMBRANCE CEREMONY, YOU CAN JOIN US ON KOCO.
Oklahoma City reflects on bombing anniversary as Thunder begin playoff run
Oklahoma City marks the 31st anniversary of the bombing while celebrating the Thunder’s playoff opener, blending remembrance and resilience
Updated: 5:09 PM CDT Apr 17, 2026
Oklahoma City is commemorating the 31st anniversary of the bombing while celebrating the Oklahoma City Thunder’s playoff opener, intertwining tragedy and triumph in a meaningful weekend.>> Download the KOCO 5 app | Subscribe to KOCO 5’s YouTube channel | Sign up for KOCO 5’s Morning NewsletterAt 9:03 a.m., the city will honor the 168 lives lost in the April 19, 1995, attack, a tragedy that reshaped Oklahoma City’s identity. Thirty-one years later, that same spirit of resilience is evident in the Thunder’s arena, as the team has become a symbol of the city’s victorious rebirth.”Just the fact that the game is on April 19th is no coincidence. It allows us to remember in the morning and celebrate life in the afternoon,” said Kari Watkins, CEO of the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum. Game one of the NBA Finals falls on the anniversary of the bombing. Fans wearing a Game One Thunder shirt will receive free admission to the museum through the end of April. At the game, Ronnie Fields, a Guthrie pastor who lost his mother, Carrol, in the bombing, will deliver the invocation. Watkins highlighted the community’s unity, saying, “The way this community comes together now carries their memory forward.””Sam Presti in 2008 decided to bring the team here and every year, he has done it since,” Watkins said. “As they get new players and new staff, we bring them through the museum.”Get the latest news stories of interest by clicking here.From remembrance to the roar of the crowd, the Oklahoma City Thunder are now part of the tribute, as the city honors its past while stepping into its future. Top HeadlinesTIMELINE: Storms with tornado and damaging wind threat possible Friday in OklahomaAstronomers measure the mind-blowing power and speed of black hole jets for the first timeStrait of Hormuz is fully open, Trump and Iranian foreign minister saysFamily vanished while getting Christmas tree in 1958. Their remains were just identifiedFord recalls 1.4 million F-150 pickup trucks to fix a gearshift issue
OKLAHOMA CITY —
Oklahoma City is commemorating the 31st anniversary of the bombing while celebrating the Oklahoma City Thunder’s playoff opener, intertwining tragedy and triumph in a meaningful weekend.
>> Download the KOCO 5 app | Subscribe to KOCO 5’s YouTube channel | Sign up for KOCO 5’s Morning Newsletter
At 9:03 a.m., the city will honor the 168 lives lost in the April 19, 1995, attack, a tragedy that reshaped Oklahoma City’s identity. Thirty-one years later, that same spirit of resilience is evident in the Thunder’s arena, as the team has become a symbol of the city’s victorious rebirth.
“Just the fact that the game is on April 19th is no coincidence. It allows us to remember in the morning and celebrate life in the afternoon,” said Kari Watkins, CEO of the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum.
Game one of the NBA Finals falls on the anniversary of the bombing. Fans wearing a Game One Thunder shirt will receive free admission to the museum through the end of April.
At the game, Ronnie Fields, a Guthrie pastor who lost his mother, Carrol, in the bombing, will deliver the invocation. Watkins highlighted the community’s unity, saying, “The way this community comes together now carries their memory forward.”
“Sam Presti in 2008 decided to bring the team here and every year, he has done it since,” Watkins said. “As they get new players and new staff, we bring them through the museum.”
Get the latest news stories of interest by clicking here.
From remembrance to the roar of the crowd, the Oklahoma City Thunder are now part of the tribute, as the city honors its past while stepping into its future.
Top Headlines