Thunder players pop champagne after winning NBA title
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The Thunder earned the right to pop some champagne after beating the Pacers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night. However, some players had trouble figuring out how that celebration even works in the first place before a veteran stepped up to give them some guidance.
Most sports teams get their drink on after winning a championship, and they usually don’t waste much time kicking off the festivities in the locker rooms that are typically covered in plastic and boast an ample supply of goggles to protect against the booze that is usually flowing—and spraying—in copious amounts.
That includes the bottles of champagne that have become inextricably linked to a big win courtesy of a tradition that can be traced back to Dan Gurney, the Formula 1 driver who doused the crowd with the massive magnum of bubbly he was given after winning Le Mans in 1967.
On Sunday, the Thunder became the latest team to get the chance to follow in his footsteps after capping off their impressive season with a 103-91 victory over the Pacers in the deciding game of the NBA Finals.
That was especially impressive when you consider Oklahoma City was the youngest team in the NBA this year. Players were an average age of 25.6 years old, and the Thunder became the second-youngest team to win a title behind the Portland squad that clocked in at 24.5 all the way back in 1977.
They were able to overcome that relative lack of experience on the court, but it reared its head in the locker room after the game when some guys on the team went to pop and spray the champagne only to realize they didn’t actually know how to do it.
Thunder squad had a tough time popping bottles after NBA Finals 🤣🍾 pic.twitter.com/ef4YiC5t6r
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 23, 2025
As you can see in that video, some players seemed to think you simply needed to shake the bottle until the cork popped off before discovering that was not the case. Isaiah Hartenstein credited 31-year-old veteran Alex Caruso (who previously won a title in The Bubble with the Lakers in 2020) for showing them the light, and they were eventually able to figure out the proper mechanics.
Champagne shower time in the Thunder locker room pic.twitter.com/HL6Km0u80B
— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) June 23, 2025
It seems like the Thunder are set up for success in their quest to bring another title back to Oklahoma City in the near future, so at least they’ll know what they’re doing next time if that ends up being the case.