The OKC Thunder secured a place in the NBA Finals after beating the Minnesota Timber Wolves 4-1 in the conference finals.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was selected as Western Conference Finals MVP after averaging 31.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg and 8.2 APG in his exploits in the series.
OKC Thunder only dropped Game 3 of the series. This was a 43-point blowout loss at the target center.
After the game, Gilgeous-Alexander shared the wrong place for the team, leading the bounce in games 4 and 5, helping the team reach their first NBA Finals since 2012.
Since participating in the NBA Finals, many have given the OKC team a huge admiration at ESPN’s Jay Williams, and the current roster is better than the team that played the final in 2012.
That side included Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Kevin Durant. He has all won the MVP trophies and continues to achieve many in his career.
However, the team has created a special record that even Thunder’s previous Big 3 failed to achieve.
Thunder secured a home court advantage throughout the playoffs after an excellent regular season in 68 games.
For most of the 2024-25 season, the Cleveland Cavaliers looked like the side with the best record, but the Thunder consistency allowed them to make the difference between the four games with their Eastern Conference rivals.
The home court advantage in the playoffs wasn’t very good. Except for the Thunder, the team has a 34-33 record.
Meanwhile, the Thunder dominates, winning four times with an 8-1 record at home, at least 30 points.
They lost two points in Game 1 of the series.
The Thunder’s roster averages 25.33, which ranks fourth among all teams in NBA history.
They dominated throughout the postseason, and the Nuggets took them into seven games and put pressure on them, but they responded well by blowing up the experienced side of the series’ decider.
Many have questioned the team throughout the year, but they responded with elite performances over and over.
Heading into the NBA Finals, they have strong records at home, but that’s hard to bet.
Either the Indiana Pacers or the New York Knicks will be a tough matchup, but the Thunder had a much needed rest before the series.
Stephen A. Smith has already chosen the Thunder to surpass the Knicks if he wins the Eastern Conference Finals.
Mark Daigenault has done an incredible job and even praised Jamal Crawford for his work with the team.
He motivated the team to play brilliantly on both ends, and if they continued what they did all season, the team could win their first championship while moving to Oklahoma.