Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (C) holds up the MVP trophy as he celebrates with his team after winning the NBA Finals with a Game 7 victory against the Indiana Pacers in Oklahoma City, USA, June 22, 2025. /VCG
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (C) holds up the MVP trophy as he celebrates with his team after winning the NBA Finals with a Game 7 victory against the Indiana Pacers in Oklahoma City, USA, June 22, 2025. /VCG
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was named NBA Finals Most Valuable Player on Sunday, after leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to a title-clinching Game 7 victory over the Indiana Pacers.
The 26-year-old Canadian became the first player since LeBron James in 2013 to earn both the NBA regular season and Finals MVP awards in the same season.
"For me this is a win for my family, it's a win for my friends, it's a win for everybody that was in my corner growing up," Gilgeous-Alexander said after Oklahoma City's 103-91 win.
"It means everything. This is why you play the sport – you play every sport to win," he added. "We have a team full of competitors, we did what it took to be champions, and we deserve this. We rose to the moment and here we are."
The Thunder point guard is now part of an exclusive club of just 11 players to achieve the feat. He follows in the footsteps of James, Shaquille O'Neal, Tim Duncan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Moses Malone, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Willis Reed.
Gilgeous-Alexander produced a dazzling performance in Sunday's decider in Oklahoma City, finishing with 29 points, 12 assists, five rebounds, a pair of blocked shots, and a steal.
Jalen Williams scored 20 points and Chet Holmgren added 18 for the Thunder, who finished off a season for the ages. Oklahoma City won 84 games between the regular season and playoffs, tying the 1996-97 Chicago Bulls for third-most in any season. Only Golden State (88 in 2015-16) and Chicago (87 in 1995-96) have won more.
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) shoots against Indiana Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith (23) during the first half of Game 7 of the NBA Finals in Oklahoma City, U.S., June 22, 2025. /VCG
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) shoots against Indiana Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith (23) during the first half of Game 7 of the NBA Finals in Oklahoma City, U.S., June 22, 2025. /VCG
The championship will be technically considered the second in team history for the Thunder, but their first since moving to Oklahoma City in 2008. The franchise won the 1978-79 NBA title as the Seattle SuperSonics, with many fans and critics arguing that accomplishment should be held in reserve as part of the legacy for a potential future expansion squad.
There is nothing in the rafters at the Thunder's home arena to commemorate that achievement either way, but in October, a banner will finally be raised. A Thunder banner.
Indiana led 48-47 at halftime in Game 7, even after losing Tyrese Haliburton to what his father said was an Achilles tendon injury about seven minutes into the contest. But the Pacers were outscored 34-20 in the third quarter, as Oklahoma City built a 13-point lead and began to pull away.
Bennedict Mathurin tallied 24 points and 13 rebounds for Indiana, which still is waiting for its first NBA title. The Pacers – who fell to 10-15 after 25 games and were bidding to be the first team in NBA history to overcome a start that bad by recovering to claim a title – held leads of 1-0 and 2-1 in the series, but simply didn't have enough to get across the line in the end.
Home teams improved to 16-4 in seventh games in the NBA Finals. And the Thunder became the seventh different champion in the last seven seasons, a run of parity like none in league history.
Indiana forward Pascal Siakam was a member of the Toronto team that won in 2019, while Oklahoma City guard Alex Caruso played for the Los Angeles Lakers team that triumphed in the pandemic "bubble" in 2020. Milwaukee lifted the trophy in 2021 and Golden State in 2022, before current Pacers forward Thomas Bryant helped Denver claim top honors in 2023, and Boston stood on top of the podium last year.
And now Oklahoma City gets its turn. The youngest team to capture a title in nearly half-a-century has reached the NBA mountaintop.
The Thunder are the ninth franchise to hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy in NBA Commissioner Adam Silver's 12 seasons in charge. Predecessor and mentor David Stern saw eight franchises win titles during his 30 seasons running the league.
Source(s): AFP