If you had asked anyone back in November 2024 who's winning NBA Finals 2025, you would have heard a lot of "Boston" or "Denver" or maybe even some "Knicks" hype. But sports are never that clean. The Oklahoma City Thunder just finished one of the most absurd runs in modern history, basically holding the Larry O'Brien trophy over everyone's heads while shouting "we told you so." They didn't just win; they broke a 46-year drought that had been haunting the franchise since the Seattle SuperSonics days of 1979.
It was a bloodbath.
Honestly, the Indiana Pacers weren't even supposed to be there. Most analysts had them pegged as a fun, fast-paced team that would eventually flame out against the heavy hitters in the East. Instead, Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam turned into a buzzsaw. They carved through the New York Knicks in a six-game Eastern Conference Finals that left Madison Square Garden smelling like disappointment. But when the dust settled on June 22, 2025, at Paycom Center, it was the blue and orange confetti falling from the rafters.
The Thunder Era Officially Started on June 22
The Oklahoma City Thunder are the ones who's winning NBA Finals 2025, and they did it by surviving a Game 7 that was as stressful as a heart monitor in a horror movie. For the first time since 2016, we actually got a Game 7 in the Finals. Usually, these series end in a gentleman's sweep or a tidy five-game wrap-up. Not this time.
OKC took the series 4-3, but the 103-91 final score in that last game doesn't tell the whole story.
The Pacers actually led 48-47 at the half. Think about that. A 50-win Indiana team was staring down a 68-win juggernaut on their home floor and winning. Then, the wheels fell off in the most heartbreaking way possible. Tyrese Haliburton, who had been the engine of the most surprising postseason run in a decade, tore his right Achilles tendon with 4:55 left in the first quarter. He went down, slapped the floor in agony, and the energy just... left the building for a second.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is in a Different Stratosphere
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA) didn't just win; he conquered. He became the first player since LeBron James in 2013 to sweep the Regular Season MVP and the Finals MVP in the same year.
His stat line for Game 7 was basically a video game:
- 29 points
- 12 assists
- 5 rebounds
- 2 blocks
- 91.7% from the free-throw line
He’s 26 years old. That’s the scary part. He joins Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, and Shaq as the only players to ever win the scoring title, the MVP, and the Finals MVP in a single season. Most stars spend their whole careers trying to get one of those. He grabbed the whole set like he was shopping at a grocery store.
Why the 2025 Finals Felt Different
We’ve spent years watching the same three or four teams cycle through the Finals. This year was the seventh unique champion in seven years. That’s a league record. No more dynasties. No more "superteams" buying their way to a ring.
OKC won because they were built, not bought.
They started the season with the second-best betting odds, but people still doubted their youth. Critics said Chet Holmgren was too thin or that Jalen Williams wasn't ready for the "big lights." Well, "J-Dub" dropped 40 points in Game 5. He became the third-youngest player since the merger to hit 40 in a Finals game. Chet anchored a defense that ranked top-three all season.
The Pacers' Narrative of Defiance
You can't talk about who's winning NBA Finals 2025 without giving flowers to Indiana. They set an NBA record this postseason with five different 15-point comebacks.
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They were the ultimate "zombie" team. You thought they were dead in Game 1? Haliburton hits a game-winning jumper to silence Oklahoma City. You thought they were done after falling behind in the East? They ruin the Knicks' season. Even in the Finals, they pushed a 68-win team to the absolute brink.
The market size for this Finals was tiny—the smallest since Spurs-Cavs in 2007. But the basketball was high-level. It was pure. No luxury tax teams. Just two squads with incredible chemistry and coaches who actually know how to draw up a sideline out-of-bounds play.
What Most People Got Wrong
Everyone assumed the Boston Celtics would repeat.
They were the defending champs. They had the "Jays." They looked unbeatable. But the New York Knicks happened. And then Jayson Tatum went down with an Achilles injury in the second round. That’s the reality of the NBA; health is the biggest variable nobody can account for. While Boston was watching from the couch, OKC was methodically dismantling the Minnesota Timberwolves in the West.
The Thunder's depth was the actual X-factor. Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso were the "boring" signings that won them the championship. Caruso’s perimeter defense in Game 4—where he basically lived in the jersey of every Pacers guard—saved their season.
Actionable Takeaways from the 2025 Season
If you're looking at the landscape of the NBA moving forward, the 2025 Finals taught us a few things that aren't going away:
- The "Second Apron" is Real: Teams like the Suns and Bucks are struggling because the new CBA makes it impossible to keep a bench. OKC and Indiana succeeded because they had cheap, elite talent on rookie contracts or team-friendly deals.
- Youth isn't a Weakness Anymore: The Thunder are the second-youngest team to ever win a title. The "you have to lose before you can win" mantra is officially dead.
- The West is SGA’s Kingdom: With Jokic and Luka still in their prime, Shai has somehow leapfrogged them both in terms of hardware.
The 2024-25 season was a wild ride that ended exactly how the spreadsheets predicted, but in a way that felt totally unpredictable. Oklahoma City is the center of the basketball world right now. If you're betting on 2026, you might want to look at those young legs in OKC because they aren't going anywhere.
To truly understand the impact of this win, look at the roster construction of the Thunder compared to the rest of the Western Conference. They have a mountain of draft picks still coming from the Paul George trade—the very trade that brought SGA to the team. They are currently the only champion in history that is also well-positioned to pick in the top ten of the draft for the next three years. This isn't just a one-off win; it's the start of a potential decade of dominance.
Next season's schedule will likely be released in August, and you can bet the Thunder will have the maximum number of national TV games. Paycom Center has gone from a "small market" arena to the loudest building in the league. For the Pacers, the focus shifts to Haliburton's recovery. An Achilles injury at 25 is a nightmare, but with modern medicine, the hope is he returns for the 2026-27 season to finish what he started.
Finals MVP: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Champion: Oklahoma City Thunder.
Status: Certified.