Over the past few seasons, no NBA sideline reporter has had more fun than Nick Gallo.
It all culminated this year when the Oklahoma City Thunder dominated the regular season, and last week, won its first championship since relocating from Seattle in 2008.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, and Jalen Williams are stars on the court, but Gallo has also received attention for his viral postgame interviews. The players have covered him with towels and got him to bark like a dog.
We recently caught up with Gallo, who has worked for Oklahoma City since 2012, to see what it’s been like to cover the franchise en route to a title.
Note: This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
Awful Announcing: After the longest season in OKC history, how tired are you?
Nick Gallo: “I’m trying to catch my breath. It’s been a bit of a challenge to do the draft right on the heels of Game 7 of the Finals and the parade. But there’s no feeling I’d rather have. It was a huge honor to cover such an amazing team and to watch them accomplish their goal. It has been special.”
What was the wildest thing you saw at the parade?
“You don’t see many championship parades where, after about two blocks, the guys all get off the floats and walk the remainder of the two miles in 95-degree heat. Those players, I swear, they played one more 48-minute game that day. They walked all that way. They’re sweating. But they wanted to make sure that the fans in Oklahoma City got to touch the Larry O’Brien Trophy.”
Did anything else stand out from that day?
“There’s a wonderful photo of one of the floats that had Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Cason Wallace on it. Shai’s got his arms outstretched, and in the background is the Oklahoma City National Memorial, the location of the tragic bombing. That photo is so powerful and so stunning. I know for the people in Oklahoma City, it was just such a perfect image of how the city has transformed, how it came together through that tragedy to become something bigger and better than they could have ever dreamed.”
In the heart of celebration, #WeRemember pic.twitter.com/sJWwAE6nxl
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) June 25, 2025
What will you remember from the NBA Finals?
“Game 7 and the final buzzer sounding and seeing people who have been with the Thunder for way longer than I have celebrate that championship and just how much time and effort and energy and sacrifice have gone into it. Seeing that was awe-inspiring because it is exceedingly difficult to win an NBA championship. It was great to see all those people whose work and tireless energy have gone into this get rewarded.”
Can you give an example of the unity of this team?
“A moment that stands out is Game 2 against the Denver Nuggets. Mark Daigneault makes a pretty bold substitution decision. He brings (Jaylin Williams) in for Isaiah Hartenstein after only about four minutes in the first quarter to get a quick breather and a fresh body in there at the center spot. In one of the very first possessions, the ball gets swung around to J-Will. And before J-Will’s even put the shot up, you know, Isaiah Hartenstein is the first guy jumping off the bench, putting his hand up in the air, celebrating that shot, which did eventually go in. I just thought that was such a remarkable display of the connectedness and the selflessness of the team.”
What is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander like?
“He’s an intense competitor. He’s very demanding of himself, but in terms of his actual personality when it comes to how he operates around the team, it’s breezy. He has a lightness to him that allows everyone to be themselves, to feel comfortable, to feel welcome. That’s how he’s treated me as well, from the first day I met him. He has been a great person to work with and to help lead this organization. Not just the basketball team, but a true role model for the organization.”
The Oklahoma City Thunder towel budget is out of control.
Credit due, @NickAGallo. pic.twitter.com/6csOJRo1F1
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 15, 2025
How did your special bond with the players come about?
“It’s all been player-driven from the very outset. I have yet to have a single conversation with any of the players about it. It’s organic. It sort of comes to them, and if it happens, it happens. Some nights, nothing happens. And that’s great, too. It’s all when the mood strikes them.
“The genesis was in Chet Holmgren’s rookie year. His version of leadership was that in the walk-off interviews, he always insisted that there would be another player alongside him doing that interview. He was signifying, ‘Look, I might be getting called out for the great game that I played, but I didn’t win this game alone, and there needs to be somebody alongside me as a representation of that.’ So that was the beginning of it.”
How did these celebrations grow?
“A catalyst was down in San Antonio in January 2024, I believe. Aaron Wiggins had a great game, and I got a chance to interview him for our FanDuel Sports Network broadcast afterward. Up behind him came Chet and JW, and they just started barking in his ear in the background, hyping him up. Once again, these guys are just celebrating one another. That’s where the barking kind of began, and it started to take on a life of its own.”
2024 Thunder regular season basketball was a MOVIE ⛈️ 🎥 🍿
Playoffs are next and @NickAGallo WITH THE BARK 👀 #ThunderUp | @okcthunder | @BallySports 📺 pic.twitter.com/dpSlNKjAVK
— Thunder on FanDuel Sports Network Oklahoma (@FDSN_Thunder) April 14, 2024
Did you always want to cover sports?
“I grew up in Durham, NC. Basketball has been at the forefront of my mind, heart, and life since I was a kid. In high school, they would basically cancel classes during the ACC Tournament and let everybody watch the games. Just so much passion there. I always dreamed of doing something with sports. Never imagined that I would be able to do it.
“I wrote for my high school newspaper and my college newspaper and covered teams. It wasn’t until I was at Vanderbilt that I was able to make some headway and earn an internship with the Tennessee Titans. That’s kind of how I got my foot in the door.”
So grateful for everyone at the Thunder – the players, the leadership and the staff who worked tirelessly and sacrificed so much to bring an NBA championship to this incredible city – and for allowing me to be a part of the journey all these years.
Thank you for this moment! pic.twitter.com/Ko4t7ztsFT
— Nick Gallo (@NickAGallo) June 23, 2025
What was it like to hold the Larry O’Brien Trophy?
“It was the honor of a lifetime and something that everyone in this industry hopes to do one day, so I don’t take that lightly. But hopefully when those photos get in, maybe all of us in the organization can get them printed and have them here in my office.”