Last updated: 5 Mar 2026 | 66 Views |
The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Indiana Pacers 103-91 in Game 7 of the NBA Finals to win their first championship since moving from Seattle in 2008. League MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was named Finals MVP after scoring 29 points with a playoff career-high 12 assists in the first Finals Game 7 in nine years. Olympics
Full Series Results
Game 1: Pacers 111 — Thunder 110
Game 2: Thunder 123 — Pacers 107
Game 3: Pacers 116 — Thunder 107
Game 4: Thunder 111 — Pacers 104
Game 5: Thunder 120 — Pacers 109
Game 6: Pacers 108 — Thunder 91
Game 7: Thunder 103 — Pacers 91 ESPN
Road to the Finals
The Thunder reached the Finals by routing the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games in the Western Conference Finals. In the East, the Pacers overcame the New York Knicks in six games, returning to the Finals for the first time since 2000. ESPN
Game 7 — The Night History Was Written
Game 7 was far from straightforward for the Thunder despite home court advantage. Haliburton was injured in the first quarter, yet the Pacers continued to fight, with Pascal Siakam leading the resistance. NBC
Then in the third quarter, the Thunder began to pull away. Led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, they outscored the Pacers by 14 points in the period, building a lead they would maintain to the final buzzer. NBC
Tyrese Haliburton — The Unlucky Hero
Haliburton tore his right Achilles tendon in the first quarter of Game 7, watching the rest of the game from the locker room and likely facing the entire 2025-26 season on the sidelines. Wikipedia Throughout the Playoffs, Haliburton produced five comebacks from 15+ point deficits and four game-tying or game-winning shots, in what is considered one of the most remarkable postseason runs in NBA history. Wikipedia
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — The Best Player in the World
SGA averaged 30.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 5.6 assists throughout the 2025 Playoffs Basketball-Reference.com and became only the second player in history alongside Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to win the NBA MVP, Finals MVP and scoring title before the age of 26. Olympics
History Made
The victory secured the Thunder's second championship in franchise history, after their 1979 title as the Seattle SuperSonics, and their first since relocating to Oklahoma City in 2008. Wikipedia
The 2025 Finals also crowned the NBA's seventh unique champion in seven years — the longest such streak in league history. Wikipedia
The Larry O'Brien Trophy
The trophy that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander lifted in front of a roaring home crowd is the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy, named after the third NBA Commissioner. Made from silver and gold-plated, standing two feet tall and weighing 14.5 pounds, a brand new trophy is created every season for the champions to keep permanently — one of the few major sports trophies in the world that the winning team truly owns forever.
Final Thought
The 2025 NBA Finals delivered everything basketball fans could have hoped for — a series that went the full seven games, dramatic comebacks, a heartbreaking injury at the worst possible moment, and a generational talent proving himself on the biggest stage. Oklahoma City waited nearly two decades for this moment. On the night of June 22, 2025, the wait was finally over.
7 Mar 2026