The Thunder claimed their first NBA championship since the franchise moved to Oklahoma City, as they defeated the depleted Pacers, 103-91, in Game 7 on Sunday.
Seattle, which won the championship in 1979, relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008. The Pacers, who have never won an NBA title, played the last three quarters without Tyrese Haliburton, who suffered an Achilles injury in the first quarter.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, this season’s Most Valuable Player, also earned Finals MVP honors, the league announced (via Twitter). It’s the 16th time a player has won both in the same year, though it hasn’t happened since LeBron James pulled it off during the 2012/13 season.
The Thunder should be major contenders for years to come with their young core, featuring Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren. The top priorities for the Thunder this offseason center around extensions.
Gilgeous-Alexander has met the performance criteria for a super-max contract and will become eligible to sign that extension next month. The 2024 MVP runner-up still has two years left on his current deal and can’t exceed six years in total, so the maximum value of his extension would be a projected $293.4MM over four years, beginning in 2027/28.
Williams and Holmgren are eligible for rookie scale extensions until the beginning of next seasons and both could receive the max – five years and a projected $246MM. The maximum value of those extensions could increase to a projected $296MM if All-NBA, MVP or Defensive Player of the Year honors are negotiated into the contracts.
The Pacers’ offseason outlook could change dramatically due to Haliburton’s injury. Myles Turner, their starting center, is headed to unrestricted free agency and while the Pacers reportedly want to re-sign him, they could have plenty of competition. Bennedict Mathurin is eligible for a rookie scale extension.
Several other key players, including Haliburton and Pascal Siakam, are signed through at least the 2027/28 season. Could they look to shed salary in light of Haliburton’s injury?
With the NBA Finals decided, the 2025 NBA offseason is officially underway. For the second straight year, teams will be permitted to negotiate contracts with their own free agents one day after the Finals. Players who won’t be free agents this offseason but who will become eligible to sign contract extensions on July 6 will also be permitted to begin negotiations with their current teams on Monday.
Thus, it wouldn’t be surprising if some agreements are reported this week. Free agent contracts still can’t be officially finalized until after the July moratorium lifts on July 6.
The draft will be held on Wednesday and Thursday, with free agency beginning on June 30 at 6 p.m. Eastern time.
Asterisk championship.
why?
Go visit a Reddit board or 4chan and you’ll find out
Reddit and 4Chan? Yeah sure, I’ll go and get my political insights from the guy under the bridge too
Hali injured. The asterisk thing is over blown by people. The rings and trophy won’t have an asterisk on it and 10 years 90% of people won’t remember.
Every championship is based somewhat on injury luck.
There’s no reason for an asterisk. Nearly every season the Championship teams beats teams that have major injuries. He’ll the Pacers got where they were because of injuries to almost half of the Cavs rotation. As usual DDC just posts comments like these because he thinks it makes him sound profound.
Definitely not and I’m no fan of either team. What a lame comment
Every title run in every sport involves injures, sports has injuries.
The best team in the NBA all season long won the title. How is there an asterisk?
Pacers were the best team in the NBA from January 1-present. More wins than OKC in that time frame.
Funny coming from a dodgers fan and their participation trophy 2020
Padres fan mad that San Diego doesn’t have an NBA team, Easy as 1 2 3?
Oh yeah totally upset we don’t have the clippers or chargers lmao. Two loser franchises chose LA cause LA is full of a bunch of losers. Just goes hand in hand match made in heaven.
Yeah we will just ignore them winning the world series last season lmao.
Yay Dodgers won it all……. After spending 6 billion dollars between 2000-2024 it’s about time you finally won something. For goodness sakes Dodgers wasted more money chasing an actual ring than the US government did leaving behind all that equip in Afghanistan.
I would feel a lot better about them winning if the dick that paid lip service to keeping them in Seattle and then just bailed wasnt involved anymore…
Injuries are part of the competition but haliburton shot 3 for 4 in the 1st qtr before the injury. Maybe he’s bound to get a 25 points or more game? That could maybe win them this game…?
You must be deficient.
Nah
Sure as soon as you give the lakers one for the covid year.
People just can’t be this stupid
2020 has the biggest * in league history by far, obviously.
Congrats OKC.
OKC just busted the young-teams-can’t-win curse ……. it was bound to happen though – the level of parity is at its highest, the game is fast, wide-open, high-scoring.
Take a bow Sam Presti.
The “curse” is overstated. The Warriors were only an average of 26.4 years old when they won it all in 2015. That’s not much older than this years Thunder.
What a week in the world of basketball. Exciting Finals series currently going on in the top French & Spanish leagues, a huge trade involving an all time great, NBA draft coming up in a few days, WNBA & Big 3 both having exciting starts to their seasons, OKC winning their first title in an exciting 7gm series & currently the U16 Team USA girls are looking dominant with 7mins left in the gold medal game of this U16 AmeriCup tournament vs Canada… link to m.youtube.com
Much love/respect to a great young Thunder squad but sheesh this U16 girls team is LOADED. They could legit get to a sweet16 maybe deeper if they were a college team & obv none of them are currently college age. They’ve won multiple games by 100+ pts in this tournament & are currently up 31pts over a strong Canadian team here in the final.
FIBA Women’s U19 World Cup is in a few days & that team promises to be extremely strong as well with Olivia Miles, Flau’Jae & Hannah Hidalgo just a few of the beasts on that roster.
No one cares, Thomas Sankara.
Bulls fan here: that was a horribly officiated game that seemed to be given to OKC.
Looked like refs gave Indy a ton of chances in that 4th.
After giving OKC like 500 chances in the 1st through 3rd SMH
Find another sport .
29 FTs for Pacers. 31 FTs for Thunder. And Thunder attack the rim more. They won by 12. Do you even know how this game is played ??
Congrats to other OKC fans enjoy.
lets get this offseason started
Lol there have already been two trades….
Does this make SGA the greatest player since the move form Seattle to OKC? MVP, NBA championship and finals MVP. Durant not Westbrook ever did that.
Scoring title too which KD had multiple of but he never got the title.
Haven’t you heard, chips don’t matter, lols.
Chips are a team accomplishment but if everything else that matters like stats, accolades, records and persona are close than I do believe rings play a big part.
Huge rumor if true.
Good question I think.so. KD was great individually, but didn’t win a chip
Congrats to OKC. Even without Tyrese for 3/4 of the game, the Pacers held their own
Try and enjoy the game for once. Best team won.
Congratulations to OKC Thunder and their fans. With such a young team. Thunder should have many more playoff runs in them. First one is always the best ….. SGA is a great champion. Yet seems like a great young man. He is the face of the NBA.
Talent, commitment, humility, great teammate, true leader .. 🙏Congratulations OKC Thunder.
I’m not an OKC fan, but I remember the sadness, betrayal, and loss when KD left and how the fans suffered afterwards. This was a big middle finger to KD. Grats OKC!!!
Kinda how Seattle felt when KD left… OOOHHHHHH
They should bring the sonics back and scrap the jazz…
The stories coming out of NBA offices. Is Seattle and Las Vegas will be getting teams…..
I thought NBA was waiting for Bron to retire. To go to Vegas ……. Seattle deserves one.
Congrats ⚡️…
SGA wins before Luka, Booker, Ja, Trae, Dame, Brunson, Maxey, Derozen, Russ. Chet wins before Embiid, KAT, Turner, Gobert.
Jalen Williams wins before JJJ, Bam, Butler, PG
With this title, SGA > Russ > KD > Harden on OKC all time great
If it were not for Lu Dort and Shai, I would have loved this team. Those 2 are just insufferable to watch play basketball though.
And they have multiple firsts the next 4 drafts plus swaps, with everyone already under contract.
SGA is the worst MVP of all time. Grifterball should not get you this far. Giving the MVP to Harden and Westbrook was the worst mistakes in league history.
Ethical hooping or GTFO!
As expected by most, OKC won the title. Sad that the Pacers’ leader being injured was a key reason why.
SGA now stands with Oklahoma greats …..
Mickey, Billy, Shai ………. GOATS
Congratulations to best team in NBA …
OKC Thunder … and to MVP — SGA. great year 🙏
Pacers would have won if not for hali injury
I was there. I saw it with my own eyes
Soul crushing & heartbreaking doesnt even begin to describe it
Sick to my stomach
Feel for you guys this morning, but they stopped playing offense in the third quarter. They shot the 3 so exceptionally well, I was surprised they tried to attack the paint down 15 with 7 mins left. Nesmith had a great playoff run but he needs to be better than taking silly touch fouls so early in the game. He’s so important on both ends of the floor, that he needs to be smarter out there. That will happen over time with him trying to be too physical at times, he needs to feel what the refs are going to call during the game and adjust to the officiating. Next step of him being a top wing defender in this league. Congrats to the Pacers and their season, one of the most memorable and surprising teams in the last 30 years to reach the Finals. Great team with an outstanding coaching staff and nucleus. Future is bright in NapTown, USA.
They gave it everything they had but even some players said they couldnt stop thinking about tyrese. It was over when he went down. He is their offensive facilitator, nobody can replace him. agree nesmith will continue to learn & grow, he gets a bit too physical & aggressive. Very proud of the players, coaches. The greatest championship run that never happened. Just sad. Very very sad. None of you can even begin to understand
Probly also changes the trajectory of indy’s future. Maybe they dont resign myles since the window to win is closed for atleast a yr or 2 now. By the time hali comes back in 2027, nesmith & nemhard contracts will be finished. Tj as well. Its the end of the franchise. Just like malace, just like pg broken leg
I feel bad for the guy but to act like they would definitely have won had he not got hurt is crazy – OKC was still the favourite to win game 7 on their home court.
You have also been extremely smug on these threads all postseason long and haven’t once acknowledged that the Pacers greatly benefited from injuries to some of their other opponents, so perhaps this is karma.
hell of an effort by the Pacers, if Hali was healthy who knows which team would be hoisting the Larry OB.
Probably still OKC.
probably, but not inconceivable that Hali would have added more than 12 points more to his total for the game if he hadn’t gotten hurt. It also would have opened up some other guys for looks if the defense had to deal with Hali. who knows though.
Actually, the opposite is “probably” true.
Long overdue for Sam Presti. Arguably the top evaluator of new/young talent in the league for decades but could never win the big one until now.
I agree, its crazy how OKC can have the MVP alongside the deepest roster in decades, OKC are making the Finals without SGA, period. He isn’t that valuable to them.