Thunder Win: OKC’s First Championship Title

The Oklahoma City Thunder, carried by its Canadian MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (29 points, 12 assists), won its first NBA coronation on Sunday at home against the Indiana Pacers, rewarding a franchise that has bet on the youth of his players and his coach.

Oklahoma City won 103-91 in a 7th electric match to win the 4-3 series and validate its coronation, but long trembled in front of the Pacers, however deprived of their Talisman Tyrese Haliburton, left injured after seven minutes of play.

The Thunder, heir to the Seattle Supersonics Champions in 1979, thus won its first title since its installation in Oklahoma in 2008. « OKC » had reached the first time the final in 2012 in the wake of Kevin during but had been dominated by Miami and LeBron James.

Thirteen years later, the franchise, which is based on a modest commercial market of this rural state of the south, has changed everything, except the general manager Sam Presti, who patiently built a defensive compressor roll, thanks to young players and a barely older coach, Mark Daigneault (40).

« SGA » Recruited in 2019

After a first golden age, Presti is a clean sweep in 2019 and bet on Gilgeous-Alexander which he recovers from the Clippers, with what is now considered to be the break of the century in the NBA.

Daigneault begins the following year his first holder experience on an NBA bench without pressure and takes the time to advance his young players around the future star Gilgeous-Alexander, who crosses the 30 points per match on average from the 2022-2023 financial year.

Best assessment of the Western Conference last year already, the Thunder completes its apprenticeship by falling into a conference semi-final against Dallas and Luka Doncic, before becoming the best team in the League this season.

During the play-offs, the team is jostled in the second round by the 2023 champion Denver and Nikola Jokic, beaten 4-3, after a warm-up against Memphis (4-0) and before an authoritarian success against Minnesota (4-1) to see the final, where the amazing Pacers make the Thunder tremble until the end.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander did not insult his status as the best player in the North American League, with boss finals with thick statistics (30.3 points on average), which was also appointed MVP.

“It seems unreal, it is so many hours of work, emotions, nights of doubt. This group worked for this and merit ”said « SGA » at the microphone of the stadium.

The Thunder will have found a solid lieutenant to his star, Jalen Williams (20 points), revelation of the last meetings, the immense, agile and always perfectible Chet Holmgren (18 points) completing the trio.

The Isaiah Hartenstein pivot and the Alex Caruso-Suisse knife enriched a fears of the dreaded defense led by the suffocating Quebecois Luguentz Dort last summer.

Indiana yields in the second period

On Sunday, the final experienced an unfortunate first, when Tyrese Haliburton collapsed on the prosecution after 7 minutes of play, before going out definitively, in tears, touched in the bottom of the right leg.

Although deprived of their talisman, the pacers remained in the game and fiercely defended their chances, the two teams go blow for the first period, Indiana even turned in mind (48-47) at the break.

The Thunder ended up making the difference during the 3rd quarter (81-68), with a little address from afar, and despite the Arabesques of TJ McConnell (16 points including 12 during the 3rd quarter).

The absence of Haliburton was felt at the start of the 4th quarter, the Pacers finding themselves unable to score for 4 minutes 30 marking the final flight of the premises.

While the NBA celebrates a different seventh champion in seven years, the Thunder has the means to stay at the top of the poster, with a controlled payroll and an average age of 25 years.

The thunderstorm can continue to scold on the NBA.