The Oklahoma City Thunder entered the 2025 NBA Finals as heavy favorites, their regular-season Net Rating dominating that of the Indiana Pacers by a margin suggesting inevitable gentleman’s sweep dominance. Yet when the Thunder finally hoisted the Larry O'Brien Trophy after Game 7, their championship felt more earned than expected. The Pacers had pushed them to the brink. After stealing Game 1 and convincingly beating them in Game 3, Indiana was a fourth quarter away from a 3-1 series lead before the Thunder sparked their Game 4 comeback. In shifting the narrative of the series, and giving the Thunder something to figure out, the Pacers elevated both teams beyond what the regular season numbers had promised.

This is the paradox of the Thunder's title: a championship that looked ordained on paper but required genuine adversity to claim. In an era where we've grown suspicious of easy paths to glory, Oklahoma City's struggle against a supposedly overmatched opponent didn't cheapen their achievement—it sanctified it.

Since the Warriors' back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018, the Finals have delivered a unique run of competitive balance. We've had fluky runners-up, certainly, but the actual champions have remained unimpeachable. No team has stumbled into a title that felt like a historical accident, the kind that makes you wonder if they really deserved it. The Thunder's victory continues this streak, but with a twist: they were supposed to dominate, and their inability to do so became the very thing that validates their championship. The Pacers, for their part, played like true champions despite falling just short.

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When Tyrese Haliburton left the floor in Game 5, it looked like he may not even play Game 6 due to the state of his calf. But Haliburton showed up for Game 6 and helped spark an improbable blowout of the Thunder to force a Game 7.

Throughout the Finals and even certain points during the entire playoffs, we wanted Haliburton to assert himself earlier in games and with more frequency. Haliburton did exactly that to start Game 7 with his three three-pointers on four attempts. But then Haliburton planted his right foot to begin a drive to the basket with five minutes remaining in the first quarter and the unmistakable sign of an Achilles tear was there as he fell face down to the floor. Haliburton began slapping the floor knowing both that he would miss the rest of what could have been the game of his life, but also most if not all of next season.

Yet the Pacers remained in the game and even had a 48-47 lead at halftime and stayed in the game to start the third quarter with Myles Turner re-tying the game at 56-56. But the Thunder then went on a 9-0 run over the next minute with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams each making three-pointers. This was a signature moment for the Thunder with their big 3 taking turns on the run. 

The Pacers didn’t have anyone outside of TJ McConnell score for the next 13 minutes of game time. The Thunder suffocated the Pacers during this stretch with their defense to completely control the game and extended the lead to as high as 22 points. Indiana clawed back one final time to bring the deficit down to 10 points with 2:00 remaining, but the lead was finally safe.

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The sustainability question that has plagued recent champions—the injury curse that seems to strike defending titlists—points to a deeper truth about modern championship construction. Teams need more than talent; they need the depth to survive 16 playoff wins on top of an 82-game season. The Thunder built for exactly this reality.

Oklahoma City's roster will inevitably become more expensive as Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams, and Holmgren command supermax, max, and near-max contracts respectively. This financial reality will reduce their depth over time, but their surplus of draft picks creates a renewable farm system that most contenders lack. While their peers operate on accelerated timelines—trading futures for present glory—the Thunder project to remain elite far longer than the current NBA cycle typically allows. Going all-in with a major trade is no longer necessarily table stakes.

Gilgeous-Alexander has already arrived as a fully formed MVP-caliber player. Williams has answered every question about his ceiling. Holmgren remains the most intriguing variable—a potential counter to Victor Wembanyama, provided he can stay healthy for longer than four-month stretches. But even if Holmgren's development stalls, the Thunder's foundation appears unshakeable.

Consider the contrast with other recent champions. The 2024 Boston Celtics forged their title team from the ashes of their 2008 championship core, using the draft capital gained from trading Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to Brooklyn to eventually select Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. Even then, they needed significant trades for Derrick White and Jrue Holiday, plus a costly commitment to Kristaps Porzingis, to complete their championship roster.

The Thunder's path was more direct and, paradoxically, more patient. They never won with Russell Westbrook paired with either Kevin Durant or Paul George, but the 2019 George trade directly yielded both Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams. Unlike Boston or Denver—who sacrificed future assets for Aaron Gordon—Oklahoma City didn't need to mortgage tomorrow for today. Their final championship pieces came via shrewd maneuvering: trading Josh Giddey for the better-fitting Alex Caruso while using their last offseason of cap space on Isaiah Hartenstein. Hartenstein not only gave the Thunder a true big center, but also allowed them to play multiple ways with his ability in double-big lineups alongside Holmgren.

What emerges is a portrait of organizational restraint in an impatient league. The Thunder's championship doesn't just represent another title—it validates a philosophy that prizes long-term thinking over short-term windows. In pushing them to six games, the Pacers inadvertently proved that this patient approach produces not just winners, but champions worthy of respect.

The real question isn't whether the Thunder can repeat, but whether other franchises will learn from their blueprint. In a league increasingly defined by desperate moves and borrowed time, Oklahoma City offers something rarer: sustainability. Their championship means something precisely because it should be the first of multiple.

Previous champions such as the Bucks in 2021, Nuggets in 2023, and Celtics in 2024 were all expected to be winning the first of several. We actually might mean it this time with the Thunder. Sam Presti was hired away from the Spurs by the then-Seatlte SuperSonics in 2007. The Spurs never repeated, but they sustained their title window for two decades. Winning titles consecutively in this grueling NBA may be almost impossible, but the Thunder are setup to outlast and hang around for longer than anyone.