The Oklahoma City Thunder have claimed their first championship since the franchise moved out of Seattle, delivering the title with the second-youngest crew in NBA history
The Oklahoma City Thunder are NBA champions, claiming their first title since the franchise left Seattle.
With a 103-91 win over the Indiana Pacers in Game 7, the Thunder became the second-youngest crew to claim the Larry O’Brien trophy, ranking only behind the 1976-77 Portland Trail Blazers.
The Pacers gave it all in their first Finals appearance in 25 years –particularly with All-Star playmaker Haliburton hurt for most of the series before he went down with a crushing Achilles injury early in Game 7. Indiana even nearly surged to a 3-1 lead after being in control for most of Game 4, only to see Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s late surge claw the win back for OKC.
The Thunder’s depth was just too much to overcome.
Built meticulously through draft and smart business on the trade market by general manager Sam Presti’s front office, Oklahoma City did what the previous OKC superteam – spearheaded by Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden – failed to achieve, delivering the championship that might just be the start of a new NBA dynasty.
Even with Haliburton out with what his dad would confirm was an Achilles injury, the Pacers put up a fight in Game 7. They held a 48-47 lead at halftime while successfully containing the Thunder offense, holding them to just 40.5 percent from the floor.
But OKC dominated after the break despite T.J. McConnell delivering another strong performance off the bench. The 33-year-old guard put up 12 points in the third period alone.
However, the rest of the Pacers squad scored a combined eight points. Indy also recorded seven turnovers in Q3, losing the quarter 34-20 before Oklahoma City extended the lead to more than 20 points early into the fourth.
A late charge from Indy cut the deficit down to 10 points at one point in the final period, but OKC prevailed.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led all players in scoring with 29, even though he shot just 29.6 percent from the field. The 2025 NBA MVP added five rebounds, 12 assists, one steal, and two blocks while running the ball over just once – earning the Finals MVP award for his effort throughout the series.
The Thunder pocketed a cool $8,805,000 for their heroics while the Pacers took home $3,803,000 as the runner-ups. They are now set to raise their second championship banner, basking in glory again after a 46-year wait – although it’s the franchise’s first title in the Oklahoma City era, which began in 2008.
Their last NBA finals triumph came in 1979 when, as the Seattle SuperSonics, they beat the Washington Bullets in five games.
