The Oklahoma City Thunder’s journey to the 2025 NBA championship began with heartbreak 13 years earlier. In 2012, a young Thunder team featuring Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden reached the NBA Finals, only to fall to the star-studded Miami Heat. The Thunder never returned to the Finals despite their trio of future Hall of Famers.
By 2019, those stars had scattered to other teams, forcing the Thunder into a complete rebuild. General manager Sam Presti, the same architect who had drafted Durant, Westbrook, and Harden beginning from the team’s Seattle SuperSonics days, orchestrated another masterful reconstruction. He traded away established stars for prospects like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA) from the LA Clippers and accumulated a treasure trove of draft picks.
The strategy paid off spectacularly. Over six years, the Thunder transformed from league bottom-feeders into championship contenders, with SGA blossoming into the league’s Most Valuable Player and a supporting cast of unheralded players developing into stars.
Building a juggernaut
The Thunder’s 68-win regular season in 2024–25 established them as overwhelming championship favourites. However, this success came after learning from previous failures. The team had finished first in the league the previous season, only to lose to the eventual finalist Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference playoffs.
Those playoff defeats became stepping stones to success. Presti addressed the team’s weaknesses by adding veteran centre Isaiah Hartenstein and defensive specialist Alex Caruso before the 2025 season. These additions complemented the Thunder’s existing core of SGA, All-Star Jalen Williams, and defensive anchor Chet Holmgren.
The team’s identity centred on suffocating defence. Its scheme featured aggressive trapping, hedging, and paint-packing that generated steals and transition opportunities. On offence, SGA’s masterful playmaking anchored a steady attack that maximised the team’s deep roster.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander capped off a season for the ages, adding the NBA Finals MVP to his regular season MVP and scoring title — becoming just the fourth player, and the first since Shaquille O’Neal, to complete the elusive treble in a single campaign.
| Photo Credit:
AP
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander capped off a season for the ages, adding the NBA Finals MVP to his regular season MVP and scoring title — becoming just the fourth player, and the first since Shaquille O’Neal, to complete the elusive treble in a single campaign.
| Photo Credit:
AP
Road to glory
The Thunder’s playoff journey tested their championship mettle. They dispatched the Memphis Grizzlies easily in the first round, but the Denver Nuggets presented a formidable challenge. Led by former MVP Nikola Jokic, SGA’s fiercest rival for league honours, Denver pushed the Thunder to a gruelling seven-game series before falling to the upstarts.
The Minnesota Timberwolves offered less resistance in the Western Conference Finals, setting up what appeared to be a favourable Finals match-up against the Indiana Pacers.
Unlikely opposition
While the Thunder entered as heavy favourites, the Pacers had crafted their own compelling story. This unheralded group finished fourth in the Eastern Conference with 50 wins, 18 fewer than the Thunder, but its playoff run was equally impressive.
Led by All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton and veteran forward Pascal Siakam, the Pacers upset higher-seeded opponents through superior execution and clutch performances. They swept the injury-depleted Milwaukee Bucks before shocking the conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers, which had compiled a 64–18 regular season record. The Pacers outshot the Cavaliers in their own game, displaying better composure in crucial moments.
Their Eastern Conference Finals victory over the New York Knicks was driven by stellar performances from Haliburton and Siakam, setting up a David-versus-Goliath Finals match-up.
The Pacers’ roster featured many players discarded by other contenders, including Aaron Nesmith, TJ McConnell, and Obi Toppin. Their greatest asset was head coach Rick Carlisle, whose championship experience and tactical adaptability gave them hope against superior talent.
Finals for the ages
The Finals defied expectations from the opening tip. Game 1 saw the Thunder control most of the action before the Pacers mounted a resilient comeback, culminating in a Haliburton buzzer-beater that stunned Oklahoma City.
The Thunder’s superior talent shone through in Game 2, evening the series at home. However, the Pacers’ formula continued working in Game 3 in Indianapolis. While Haliburton and Siakam delivered consistent excellence, role players like Ben Mathurin, Toppin, and McConnell rose to the occasion on both ends of the floor.
SGA remained steady and effective throughout, but Jalen Williams’ inconsistent performances became the Thunder’s biggest variable. Game 4 marked the Thunder’s turning point. Trailing by 10 points in the fourth quarter, they mounted an epic comeback powered by SGA’s clutch brilliance to even the series at 2–2.
With momentum shifting, the Thunder appeared poised to close out the series in Game 6 after easing to a win at home in Game 5, withstanding a furious Pacers fourth-quarter rally. But the Pacers had other plans.
Dramatic conclusion
Playing with the same defensive intensity that defined the Thunder, the Pacers dominated Game 6 in Indianapolis, forcing a winner-take-all Game 7. The vast talent gap between the teams seemed irrelevant as the series returned to Oklahoma City.
However, the Pacers faced a crucial concern. Haliburton had battled through a calf strain to play in Game 6, managing limited minutes only because of his team’s dominant performance. The injury raised ominous questions about his availability for the decisive game.
Indiana Pacers superstar Tyrese Haliburton could miss the entire 2025-26 NBA season after having surgery on a torn right Achilles tendon.
| Photo Credit:
AP
Indiana Pacers superstar Tyrese Haliburton could miss the entire 2025-26 NBA season after having surgery on a torn right Achilles tendon.
| Photo Credit:
AP
Game 7 remained competitive through the first half, but disaster struck the Pacers when Haliburton suffered a devastating Achilles tear and had to leave the game. The injury, which typically sidelines NBA players for at least a full season, was particularly cruel given that calf strains often precede Achilles problems.
Playing Haliburton with the injury had been a calculated risk with little alternative. His elite playmaking ability, three-point shooting, and fearless clutch play had been the catalyst for the Pacers exceeding expectations all season. Without him, they had no realistic chance in Game 7.
Guards Andrew Nembhard and McConnell tried valiantly to fill the void, but replacing Haliburton’s production proved impossible. The Thunder’s defence regained its dominant form in the third quarter, building a lead that exceeded 20 points by the period’s end. Despite a spirited fourth-quarter effort, the Pacers couldn’t overcome the massive deficit.
The Thunder emerged as deserved champions, though fortune played a role in their victory. Whether Haliburton could have led the Pacers to an upset will forever remain one of basketball’s great what-ifs, but the Thunder’s championship was earned through years of patient building and exceptional execution.
Dynasty in the making
This championship appears to be just the beginning for the Thunder. Their young core remains in their prime, while Presti’s shrewd resource management and Mark Daigneault’s effective coaching provide a foundation for sustained success.
Presti deserves particular credit for seamlessly transitioning from one championship-calibre core to another. The same executive who drafted Durant, Westbrook, and Harden has now built around SGA, Williams, Holmgren, and their supporting cast.
After 13 years of waiting, the Thunder have returned to the apex. With their combination of talent, depth, and organisational excellence, expect them to remain a championship threat for years to come.
