The Oklahoma City Thunder is the 2025 NBA champion. And despite competing in the stacked Western Conference, the title could be the first for many.
In an emotionally heavy game 7, the Oklahoma City Thunders received a 103-91 victory over the Indiana Pacers.
The new champion was led by Scoring by Shy Gilgauss Alexander, who completed a rare feat that won the scoring title, MVP and Final MVP.
OKC’s stacked roster is also expected to be together from 2025 to 2026, with the 15th overall pick in the NBA Draft.
Most impressively, OKC won the title of the year without the 2024 draft pick, Nicola Topic.
Nicola’s topic is an exciting young prospect who spent time playing for Serbia before being drafted at No. 12 for the entire season.
He maintained a torn ACL in January 2024, months before the draft, but OKC still saw enough talent to gamble on his potential.
They also had stacked rosters that allowed them to become patient, and kept the topic on the bystanders, even healthy.
Speaking to Dan Patrick’s show, NBA expert Chris Mannicks said he was told he hopes OKC will be involved next season.
Mannix said: “He was out all year round with a knee injury. When I talk about him with people in Oklahoma City, they’re like, ‘He’s going to be in the rotation next year.’
“He’s a 6’6” point guard who has one of these dynamic European games.”
The topic is the first NBA player to become champions in the league without playing a single game, Hoopsype reports.
The Oklahoma City Thunder’s 2024-25 season was the franchise’s first NBA title. And they hope it will be the beginning of the dynasty.
The final teams of back-to-back are the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018, with OKC well positioned to make a strong return.
Mannix said:
“So I think this team has a chance to have a long life in the top six or seven years.”