{"id":119072,"date":"2025-06-23T18:45:10","date_gmt":"2025-06-23T18:45:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/119072\/"},"modified":"2025-06-23T18:45:10","modified_gmt":"2025-06-23T18:45:10","slug":"oklahoma-city-and-sga-storm-past-pacers-in-game-7-to-win-nba-title","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/119072\/","title":{"rendered":"Oklahoma City and SGA Storm Past Pacers in Game 7 to Win NBA Title"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a> are NBA champions for the first time since relocating from Seattle, defeating the Indiana Pacers<\/a> 103-91 in a decisive Game 7.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just glad and happy that my dreams have been able to come true\u2026 it\u2019s a win for the family,\u201d said Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a>, who led the Thunder with a game-high 29 points.<\/p>\n

Joining NBA legends<\/p>\n

Gilgeous-Alexander, the league MVP, capped a historic postseason by joining elite company, becoming just the fourth player in NBA history to win the scoring title, league MVP, and Finals MVP in the same season. He now stands alongside Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, and Shaquille O\u2019Neal.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to believe I\u2019m part of that group,\u201d Gilgeous-Alexander said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to even fathom that I\u2019m that type of basketball player sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"OklahomaOklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, center, holds up the MVP trophy as he celebrates with his team after they won the NBA basketball championship with a Game 7 victory against the Indiana Pacers Sunday, June 22, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo\/Julio Cortez)<\/p>\n

The championship marks the franchise\u2019s second ever, the first came in 1979 as the Seattle SuperSonics, and its first in Oklahoma City since the team\u2019s relocation in 2008.<\/p>\n

Fueled by smart drafting and player development, the Thunder transformed from a lottery team in 2021 to NBA champions, proving patience can still pay off in today\u2019s league.<\/p>\n

Oklahoma City\u2019s young core delivered in the moment. Chet Holmgren<\/a> added 18 points and 8 rebounds, while Jalen Williams<\/a> contributed key defensive stops and timely baskets. Holmgren, the former No. 2 overall pick, was a steady presence inside all night.<\/p>\n

Where did Haliburton go?<\/p>\n

For Indiana, heartbreak came early. All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton<\/a> exited the game with 4:55 left in the first quarter after suffering a lower right leg injury. It was later confirmed to be an achilles injury.<\/p>\n

\"IndianaIndiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) leaves the court with an injury during the first half of Game 7 of the NBA Finals basketball series against the Oklahoma City Thunder Sunday, June 22, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo\/Nate Billings)<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened with Tyrese, all of our hearts dropped,\u201d Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said.<\/p>\n

Haliburton was unable to return but watched from the locker room surrounded by family. After the final buzzer, he stood in the tunnel to embrace each of his teammates one by one as they walked off the floor.<\/p>\n

With the win, Oklahoma City completes a remarkable climb from rebuilding to reigning champions, validating years of draft picks, player development, and patience. The Thunder\u2019s youth, talent, and poise suggest this may only be the beginning of a new NBA dynasty.<\/p>\n

For the Pacers, the loss, and Haliburton\u2019s injury, brings a cruel end to an inspiring run. But on this night, it\u2019s Oklahoma City\u2019s moment. Seventeen years after arriving, the Thunder have finally brought a title home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Oklahoma City Thunder are NBA champions for the first time since relocating from Seattle, defeating the Indiana…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":119073,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3783],"tags":[11875,7,21075,4702,126,6,2033,878,310,475,179,3966,3965,209,312,278],"class_list":{"0":"post-119072","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-oklahoma-city-thunder","8":"tag-2025-nba-finals","9":"tag-basketball","10":"tag-champion","11":"tag-game-7","12":"tag-indiana-pacers","13":"tag-nba","14":"tag-nba-mvp","15":"tag-okc-thunder","16":"tag-oklahoma","17":"tag-oklahoma-city","18":"tag-oklahoma-city-thunder","19":"tag-oklahomacity","20":"tag-oklahomacitythunder","21":"tag-shai-gilgeous-alexander","22":"tag-thunder","23":"tag-tyrese-haliburton"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/114734165171000668","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119072","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119072"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119072\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}