Honestly, if you told a basketball fan five years ago that the nba champions last year would be a roster led by a skinny kid from Canada and a center who looks like a seven-foot bridge cable, they probably would’ve laughed. But here we are.
The Oklahoma City Thunder didn't just win the 2025 NBA Finals; they essentially broke the league’s math. They were young. Like, historically young. We're talking about the second-youngest team to ever hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy, trailing only the 1977 Portland Trail Blazers.
It wasn't supposed to happen this fast. Usually, you have to lose a heartbreaker in the Conference Finals first. You have to "pay your dues." The Thunder? They just skipped the line. By the time they took down the Indiana Pacers in an absolutely grueling seven-game series on June 22, 2025, it was clear the "rebuilding" label was dead and buried.
The 2025 NBA Champions Last Year and the SGA Dynasty
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander—or SGA, if you’re into the whole brevity thing—turned in a season that felt like a video game on rookie mode. He didn't just win the title. He swept the board. Scoring title? Got it. Regular season MVP? Check. Finals MVP? Obviously.
He joined a tier so exclusive it basically only includes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Think about that for a second. We are watching a guy who won the MVP and a ring in the same season, something that hasn't happened since Steph Curry did it back in 2015.
Why the Pacers Almost Ruined the Party
We have to talk about Indiana. They weren't even supposed to be there. Most analysts had them pegged as a "nice story" that would end in the second round. Instead, Tyrese Haliburton turned into a wizard until that devastating Achilles injury in Game 7.
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The Pacers were the "Comeback Kings." They had five different 15-point comebacks during that postseason. In Game 1 of the Finals, they actually stunned OKC in their own building, winning 111-110. It felt like the Thunder might choke under the pressure of being heavy favorites.
But Game 7 was different. It was loud. Paycom Center was vibrating. SGA dropped 29 points and 12 assists, while Chet Holmgren decided to turn the rim into a "No Fly Zone" with five blocks. The final score was 103-91, but it felt wider than that.
What People Get Wrong About the Thunder's Success
A lot of folks think this was just about "tanking" and getting lucky with picks. That's a lazy take. Honestly, it’s about the trades that people hated at the time.
Remember the Alex Caruso trade? People thought OKC gave up too much for a "role player." Caruso ended up being the defensive glue that held the perimeter together while SGA did the heavy lifting on offense. Then you’ve got Isaiah Hartenstein. Adding him wasn't a "flashy" move, but his rebounding in the Finals was basically the reason the Pacers couldn't get second-chance points.
- The Depth Factor: Jalen Williams (J-Dub) scored 40 in Game 5.
- The Defensive Wall: Luguentz Dort made the All-Defensive first team for a reason.
- The Strategy: Mark Daigneault basically out-coached everyone by playing "positionless" basketball.
The Statistical Freak Show
If you look at the numbers from nba champions last year, they are kind of terrifying. OKC finished the regular season 68-14. That is the largest gap between a first and second seed in the history of the Western Conference. They outscored opponents by 12.9 points per game, which broke a record held by the 1972 Lakers.
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The most "NBA 2K" stat of all? SGA had nine consecutive home playoff games with at least 30 points. The only other person to do that? Wilt Chamberlain.
How to Build Your Own "Thunder-Style" Dynasty
If you're a fan of a team that's currently bottom-feeding, there are actual lessons to take from what OKC did. It wasn't just about losing games to get picks; it was about the culture.
- Prioritize High-IQ Players: Every guy on that roster can pass and read the floor.
- Don't Rush the Trade: Sam Presti waited years to cash in his chips for the right pieces like Caruso and Hartenstein.
- Trust the Youth: They didn't bring in a "washed" veteran superstar to lead them. They let the young guys fail until they learned how to win.
The 2025 season changed the way GMs look at roster building. The "Superteam" era of 34-year-old stars joining forces is officially on life support. Now, everyone wants to be the next OKC—young, fast, and remarkably cheap (for now).
If you want to keep up with how the Thunder are defending their title this year, make sure you're tracking the injury reports for Chet Holmgren and seeing how the new draft picks are integrating into that second unit. The target is on their backs now.
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To really understand the impact of the nba champions last year, you should go back and watch the Game 7 highlights specifically focusing on the third quarter. That 34-20 run by OKC wasn't just a scoring spurt; it was a total defensive lockdown that showed exactly why they are the kings of the mountain. Check out the official NBA YouTube channel for the "Mini-Movie" of the 2025 Finals to see the raw emotion in the locker room after the buzzer.