Thunder win title, overcome Pacers in Recreation 7
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 and Head coach Mark Daigneault of the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder rejoice as their crew defeats the Indiana Pacers 103-91 in Recreation 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals at Paycom Middle on June 22, 2025 in Oklahoma Metropolis, Oklahoma. Justin Ford/Getty Pictures/AFP
OKLAHOMA CITY — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander walked off the court docket for the ultimate time this season, collapsed into the arms of coach Mark Daigneault and eventually smiled.
It was over.
READ: NBA Finals: Tyrese Haliburton dominated out of Recreation 7 with harm
THE THUNDER ARE YOUR 2025 NBA CHAMPS 🏆
FIRST TITLE IN THE FRANCHISE’S OKC ERA ⛈️ pic.twitter.com/FvgPiH9Yyh
— NBA (@NBA) June 23, 2025
The climb is full. The rebuild is completed. The Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder are champions.
The perfect crew all season was the most effective crew on the finish, bringing the NBA title to Oklahoma Metropolis for the primary time. Gilgeous-Alexander completed off his MVP season with 29 factors and 12 assists, and the Thunder beat the Indiana Pacers — who misplaced Tyrese Haliburton to a severe leg harm within the opening minutes — 103-91 in Recreation 7 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night time.
“It doesn’t really feel actual,” mentioned Gilgeous-Alexander, the Finals MVP. “So many hours. So many moments. So many feelings. So many nights of disbelief. So many nights of perception. It’s loopy to know that we’re all right here, however this group labored for it. This group put within the hours and we deserve this.”
Jalen Williams scored 20 factors and Chet Holmgren had 18 for the Thunder, who completed off a season for the ages. Oklahoma Metropolis gained 84 video games between the common season and the playoffs, tying the 1996-97 Chicago Bulls for third most in any season.
Solely Golden State (88 in 2016-17) and the Bulls (87 in 2015-16) gained extra.
READ: NBA Finals: Pacers-Thunder Recreation 7 decides new champion
It’s the second championship for the franchise. The Seattle SuperSonics gained the NBA title in 1979; the crew was moved to Oklahoma Metropolis in 2008. There’s nothing within the rafters in Oklahoma Metropolis to commemorate that title.
In October, a championship banner is lastly coming. A Thunder banner.
The Pacers led 48-47 on the half even after dropping Haliburton to what his father mentioned was an Achilles tendon harm about seven minutes into the sport. However they had been outscored 34-20 within the third quarter because the Thunder constructed a 13-point lead and started to run away.
Bennedict Mathurin had 24 factors and 13 rebounds for Indiana, which nonetheless is ready for its first NBA title. The Pacers — who had been 10-15 after 25 video games and had been bidding to be the primary crew in NBA historical past to show that dangerous of a begin right into a championship — had leads of 1-0 and 2-1 within the collection, however they merely didn’t have sufficient ultimately.
House groups improved to 16-4 in NBA Finals Recreation 7s. And the Thunder turned the seventh champion within the final seven seasons, a run of parity like none different in NBA historical past.
READ: NBA Finals: Thunder head house for Recreation 7 duel vs resilient Pacers
Pacers ahead Pascal Siakam was a part of the Toronto crew that gained in 2019, Thunder guard Alex Caruso was a part of the Los Angeles Lakers crew that gained within the pandemic “bubble” in 2020, Milwaukee gained in 2021, Golden State in 2022, Pacers ahead Thomas Bryant and Denver prevailed in 2023, and Boston gained final 12 months’s title.
And now, the Thunder get their flip. The youngest crew to win a title in almost a half-century has reached the NBA mountaintop.
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The Thunder are the ninth franchise to win a title in NBA Commissioner Adam Silver’s 12 seasons. His predecessor, David Stern, noticed eight franchises win titles in his 30 seasons as commissioner.
“They behave like champions. They compete like champions,” Daigneault mentioned. “They root for one another’s success, which is uncommon in skilled sports activities. I’ve mentioned it many occasions and now I’m going to say it another time. They’re an unusual crew and now they’re champions.”
