The landscape of the National Basketball Association (NBA) forever changed in the early summer morning of July 6, 2019. At 1:55 a.m., the general manager of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Sam Presti, traded superstar Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for a rookie, and a handful of draft picks.
Soon after the Thunder traded away the face of their franchise, Russell Westbrook to the Houston Rockets, signaling that Presti and the Thunder were going all in on a rebuild.
Six years after being let go from Los Angeles as a rookie, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA) has cemented himself in history becoming only the fourth player in the NBA to win regular season MVP, the scoring title, an NBA Championship and a finals MVP award.
As for those draft picks, one of them was used to pick Jalen Williams, who created a historic duo with SGA to bring the Larry O’Brian trophy to Oklahoma City (OKC) for the first time ever.
Here’s how OKC closed off their seven-game series against the Indiana Pacers to capture the 2025 NBA championship.
Game 6: Indiana dominated and forced Game 7
If the Indiana Pacers wanted to keep their magical postseason run alive, they’d have to force a game seven against OKC, but the Thunder had other plans, storming to a 10-2 lead early in the first quarter.
Facing deficits for Indiana, however, was nothing new. Not only had they accumulated miraculous last second game winners in the playoffs, but they also clinched a playoff spot after rallying from a below .500 start to the season.
Down eight points with their season on the line, Indiana picked up the pace and never looked back.
Pascal Siakam, former New Mexico State basketball player, and NBA champion with the Toronto Raptors in 2019, ignited the comeback off a rebound turned into a jump shot, along with a key block against SGA.
Andrew Nembhard tied the game at 10 a piece after knocking down a step back three and gave the Pacers their first lead of the game with a driving finger roll layup. The Pacers’ lead was soon extended to seven points off the back of three drained shots from past the perimeter by Obi Toppin and Tyrese Halliburton.
Indiana continued to build upon their momentum going into the second quarter as Haliburton and Aaron Nesmith reigned down three pointers, netting them a 64-42 lead at halftime.
OKC’s deficit only grew in the second half despite a 21-point performance from SGA and 16 points from Williams, as the rest of the Thunder team struggled. NBA veteran Alex Caruso made none of his field goals while starting 7-foot-1-inch forward Chet Holmgren only scored four points.
The Pacers would put the game on ice with a Ben Sheppard three-point buzzer beater to end the third quarter, growing Indiana’s lead by 30, and putting a staple on Indiana’s 108-91 win over the Thunder, tying the series at three games apiece and forcing the league’s first game seven in the NBA finals since 2016.
Game 7: A Haliburton heartbreak, and a ring for OKC
Coined as “the two best words in sports, Game 7,” by ESPN’s Sportscenter, both teams understood the gravity of the moment.
“One game for everything you ever dreamed of,” SGA said in a press conference leading up to Game 7. “If you win it, you get everything. If you lose it, you get nothing, it’s that simple.”
“It’s so, so exciting. As a basketball fan, there’s nothing like a Game 7,” Haliburton said at the presser. “Dreamed of being in this situation my whole life.”
It was a sea of blue in OKC, as a fan base who’d welcome the franchise in 2008, were the closest they’d ever been to the glory of an NBA championship. As for the Pacers, their arena back in Indiana, the Gainbridge Fieldhouse, was hosting a sold-out watch party.
Nembhard quickly splashed in a pullup jumper on the first possession of the game, and despite SGA responding with a shot of his own, the Pacers kept the advantage of a Siakam three-pointer.
The lead wouldn’t be held for long, as Holmgren would snatch a rebound and convert it into points to give OKC their first advantage of the night but then came Haliburton.
Off an assist from Siakam, Halliburton caught a hot hand, making two consecutive three-pointers from long range, only to make another absurd shot close to the logo at center court. With only four shot attempts Haliburton had already accumulated nine points.
OKC responded with two consecutive threes from Caruso, aiding the Thunder in equalizing the game at 16 a piece.
With a tied score, Haliburton was working against SGA, and in trying to create space, his Achilles tendon was completely torn. The 25-year-old all-star had dealt with a calf injury since game five of the finals but still managed to play 23 minutes in game six. He had demonstrated a joyful demeanor to the press and said, “I’m going to do everything in my power to play.”
Now with three more quarters to go in game seven, Haliburton laid on the court, powerless. His father, John Haliburton, later confirmed to ESPN that his son has an Achilles tear.
Indiana, as they had done all season long, kept fighting, exchanging tough shots in the paint with OKC, keeping up at the charity stripe and in three-point shooting. The Pacers’ fight was enough to cling to a one-point lead at halftime.
Upon exiting the locker rooms both teams reigned down three pointers, but it was OKC who won the endurance test, making nine straight points off shots from SGA, Holmgren and Williams.
T.J McConnel, who’d replaced Haliburton, netted 12 points of his own in the third, but the Thunder’s strong accuracy allowed them to gain a five-point lead, the largest lead in the game at that point, and stuck with it, besting the Pacers 103-91, and clinching Oklahoma City its first NBA Championship.
During the trophy presentation, Presti said “Oklahoma has a true team, and not just a winner.” When asked about the recently crowned success of OKC’s six year rebuild he said, “Age is a number, sacrifice and maturity is a characteristic, and these guys had it in spades.”
At the turn of the decade, Sam Presti’s head was wanted on a stake by OKC fans. Now, the city prepares to celebrate its team as champions.
Sebastian Perez-Navarro is the multimedia editor for The Prospector and can be reached at [email protected] or Instagram and X @sebastianpn8, and on LinkedIn @sebastianperez-navarro.
