OKLAHOMA CITY — Aaron Wiggins was tasked with playing the hype man, and he filled the role perfectly.
The fourth-year Oklahoma City Thunder guard was first among his teammates to take the microphone and address fans from the stage Tuesday morning inside Paycom Center.
Berry Tramel: Can the Thunder’s title be the start of the latest NBA dynasty?
Season ticket holders were allowed into the arena for the opening ceremony of the Thunder's 2025 NBA Championship parade held in downtown Oklahoma City.
Less than 48 hours after the Thunder captured the franchise’s first world title, simultaneously achieving the greatest sporting feat in city and state history, the party was on.
Wiggins kicked things off by recognizing retired Thunder mainstay Nick Collison, now a special assistant to general manager Sam Presti, who stood and saluted the crowd.
Then Wiggins uncorked an inspiring speech that riled up the Thunder faithful of Loud City on a momentous day for OKC.
People are also reading…
“I came in as the 55th pick in the 2021 draft, and (in) my rookie season, we won 24 games,” Wiggins recalled. “But the best part about coming from that year is that the same people in this arena today celebrating this championship were the same people there when we were winning 24 games.
NBA Championship Parade Basketball
From left, Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt speaks as Oklahoma City Thunder players Kenrich Williams, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren and Luguentz Dort celebrate during a celebration of the Thunder's NBA basketball championship Tuesday, June 24, 2025, in Oklahoma City. Nate Billings, Associated Press
“It was a point where they tried to call us ‘The black hole of the NBA,’” Wiggins remembered, as boos bounced off the walls of the venue.
“But four years later, when they mention the Thunder organization, when they mention Clay Bennett, when they mention Sam Presti, when they mention Mark Daigneault, and every single one of you in this arena, they gotta mention you as NBA champs!”
The raucous applause, cheers and chants of “OKC!” that came on the heels of Wiggins’ mic drop moment made for a tough act to follow.
Yet, the Thunder players who spoke in turn afterward managed to weave together their side of a story that Oklahomans — and now the rest of the world — knows well.
Thunder followers enjoyed great success in the franchise’s first 11 seasons after the move from Seattle, with stars like Kevin Durant, James Harden, Russell Westbrook and Paul George leading the team to playoff glory, and nearly to its first championship back in 2012.
NBA Championship Parade Basketball
A fan holds a flag before a celebration of the Oklahoma City Thunder's NBA basketball championship Tuesday, June 24, 2025, in Oklahoma City. Nate Billings, Associated Press
But in July 2019, with owner Clay Bennett’s blessing, Presti shifted the franchise into a rebuild, trading George and Westbrook for kings ransoms that would help build the Thunder’s future.
In a column written for The Oklahoman, Presti likened the moves to the MAPS projects that facelifted downtown OKC from its desolation in the 1990s to its present vibrancy. He was honest, though, about how unappealing the interim future likely would be.
“Things will inevitably get harder from here,” Presti wrote. “At some point during this transition, we may not have the kind of team you’ve been used to. But we will be fearless, focused, and relentless in seeking opportunities to improve our long-term position.
“The people of Oklahoma City should be able to one day watch the rise of another great team, as they have watched the rise of their rebuilt downtown, with the knowledge that they are witnessing something not only great but enduring.”
The Thunder free fall wasn’t immediate. Thanks to the experienced Chris Paul and the young Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, harbingers of the returns from trading George and Westbrook, OKC made the COVID bubble playoffs in the 2019-20 campaign.
After that, though, came two-straight seasons with less than 25 wins and three-straight years with a losing record and no playoff appearance. The return to prominence was a slow climb.
“It took a lot of hard work, a lot of sacrifice,” Luguentz Dort, a Thunder guard for the past six seasons, said at the celebration Tuesday. “I mean, they weren’t easy. Like Wiggs said, those years were tough, and now look at us.”
Brick by brick, the Thunder built back up. Gilgeous-Alexander’s ascendancy, which culminated in his NBA Most Valuable Player coronation this season, was the catalyst.
SGA went from averaging 19 points in his first year with the Thunder to a 30-point-per-game performer each of the last three seasons, leading the league in scoring this year en route to the championship. Fans lived for his shotmaking ability and clutchness.
The supporting cast of Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, Wiggins and Cason Wallace, rose up behind SGA. After a Western Conference semifinals finish last year, Presti added the veterans, Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein, that the Thunder needed to be best positioned to push further into the postseason, to win a championship.
NBA Championship Parade Basketball
Fans cheers during a celebration of the Oklahoma City Thunder's NBA basketball championship Tuesday, June 24, 2025, in Oklahoma City. Nate Billings, Associated Press
As much as the younger Thunder players have fun, with their showmanship in group postgame interviews, TikTok videos — and for Jalen Williams in particular, barking like a dog right along with the fans — the old guys found it easy to fit in.
With that deep, versatile roster, Mark Daigneault, the unheralded coach who took over at the outset of the rebuild, proved himself as he led the Thunder to golden gilded glory. The cohesion happened fast. The Thunder ultimately tore through the rest of the league for an impeccable 68-14 record. And they did it, together.
“This is like family,” Gilgeous-Alexander said Tuesday. “We do everything together. We need each other out there, we want each other out there. We win because we have each other. We lose because we have each other. Probably because of me sometimes. But we do everything together, and guess what, guys? We won an NBA championship together.”
All that was left to do, after a 103-91 Game 7 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Sunday night, was to celebrate, then celebrate some more.
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle was upset to know that the big blue buses for the parade had already been painted, signifying the Thunder as champions, before Game 7 had been played. But nothing could stop those buses Tuesday. The Thunder had earned the right to ride.
Watch as OKC Thunder mascot Rumble the Bison arrives at the end of the parade route.
Thousands of fans stood behind metal barriers lining the sides of Harvey Avenue, Fifth Street, Walker Avenue, Third Street and Robinson Avenue as the parade snaked through its downtown OKC route. The parade passed by The Collective, Bicentennial Park and the Oklahoma City University School of Law building.
Somewhere along the way, Daigneault accepted a beer tossed up to him from a generous fan. Hartenstein convinced Thunder sideline reporter Nick Gallo to take a sip of Tequila. Temperatures were scorching outside, but nothing could preempt the Thunder’s day in the sun.
Just outside the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum, the Thunder players disembarked from their transportation and waded out into the fray, showering fans with bottles of champagne. A now-shirtless Gilgeous-Alexander, carrying the shining Larry O’Brien Trophy, allowed fans to reach out and touch the precious metal.
The message sent? This championship was the city’s as much as the Thunder’s. From the boys in blue and orange, great resiliency was required, to overcome the Denver Nuggets in a seven-game Western Conference Semifinals, and to outpace the Pacers in the title round.
In the same way, OKC has been resilient since the day tragedy struck, in the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building bombing of 1995. Thirty years later, that resilience was rewarded on perhaps the most lively day in Oklahoma City’s history.
NBA Championship Parade Basketball
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams holds the Larry O'Brien trophy during a celebration of the Thunder's NBA basketball championship Tuesday, June 24, 2025, in Oklahoma City. Nate Billings, Associated Press
The parade reached its end at Scissortail Park, where the Thunder loyalists gathered en masse around the giant stage, to hear closing remarks from Mayor David Holt and the team. Five hundred thousand people were expected for the parade and the gathering felt every bit of that, if not more.
Holt reeled off several dates that will be Oklahoma City holidays this year. June 30 is Clay Bennett Day. July 1 is Sam Presti day. July 2 is Mark Daigneault day. From July 7 on, every Thunder player will have their own holiday, finishing with SGA day on July 30.
Holt then noted that in three years, the Thunder — still a young team that has the makings of a possible dynasty — will have a new arena, and space for the Larry O’Brien Trophy will be included. “We’ll leave some extra room, as well,” Holt quipped.
After leading what he prefaced as “the loudest and biggest 'OKC' chant the world has ever heard,” Holt gave the floor over to the team.
NBA Championship Parade Basketball
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jaylin Williams greets fans as he carries the Larry O'Brien trophy during a celebration of the Thunder's NBA basketball championship Tuesday, June 24, 2025, in Oklahoma City. Nate Billings, Associated Press
Jalen Williams — known as JDub — who tasted alcohol for the very first time on Sunday, was real with the people: it was HOT outside. He kept his speech short and sweet, thanking the fans for their support.
Then, Wiggins wisely advised: “Don’t take for granted the opportunity, the celebration and the time that we’re having today, because there’s no promise that it happens again. But we made it happen, and we’re here today.”
Jaylin Williams — known as JWill — was slightly less measured, but in true Oklahoman fashion, he wasn’t afraid to speak his mind: “Aye man, we champs! The champ is here! Hey, they said we were too young. They said Oklahoma shouldn’t have a team. But guess what? We’re the (expletive) champs!"
OKC Thunder celebrates NBA championship with raucous downtown parade
Courtesy, Oklahoma City Thunder
The Scissortail Park crowd exploded. Then chants of “M-V-P!” followed as Holt introduced Gilgeous-Alexander as “the greatest player to ever put on the (Thunder) uniform,” giving SGA the very last words.
“Don’t ever forget this,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Moments in life like this, they don’t come real often. Make sure you enjoy this moment with your family, your friends, your loved ones, everyone that helped you and us get here. And don’t ever forget who they are. Never turn your back on them. Just like us a team, just like us as a community, just like us as a city of Oklahoma.
“Kids, drunk off candy, and the adults, drunk off you know what tonight. Y’all have fun tonight. We love you guys, thank you. Drive safely, very safely, and if you drink, don’t drive.”
OKC Thunder celebrates NBA championship with raucous downtown parade
Courtesy, Oklahoma City Thunder
mason.young@tulsaworld.com
0 Comments
Be the first to know
Get local news delivered to your inbox!