The Oklahoma City Thunder is the 2025 Western Conference champion.
At the pinnacle of their advance to the title stage, the OKC Thunder did not let the opportunity escape, dominating the Minnesota Timber Wolves completely to win a 124-94 Game 5 victory in the Western Conference Finals.
Oklahoma City showed off their defensive capabilities throughout the season, dominating the first half of the Game 5 clincher, officially completing Minnesota’s championship bid.
Anthony Edwards is limited to 19 points, and his 7-18 shooting shows that there is still plenty of room for him to grow.
The biggest casualty of OKC’s stifling defense was Jaden McDaniels, who only scored five points.
The victory marks the end of OKC Thunder’s wait, returning to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012.
The team was led by young stars Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden, but unfortunately they lost to LeBron James and the Miami Heat and were short on the team.
Shortly after the OKC Western Conference Strophy presentation, Shy Gilgauss Alexander spent a brief moment with one of the prominent members of Kendrick Perkins’ 2012 Final Team, who was present.
And in his postgame presser, the real-life league MVP discussed what former NBA centers and current ESPN experts told him after carrying OKC to Finals.
“He said he was proud of me and told me to continue,” Gilgaus Alexander said. “I said I appreciated that.
“Yeah, it was pretty much that, it wasn’t long, it was just nice, short, sweet.”
To reach the NBA Finals is not the ultimate goal. The OKC Thunder focuses on winning the NBA Championship.
After wiping out the Memphis Grizzlies in the opening round, facing the Denver Nuggets in the historic 68 win season and defeating the Timberwolve to reach the NBA Finals, Gilgas Alexander decides to lead the team.
“To be honest, we’re always together, so the conversation wasn’t very different from usual,” Thunder Superstar said.
“We are clearly happy now, but this is not our goal. This is not the end of the road. There was no special conversation.
He added: I want to win the NBA Championship.
“Now we’re one step closer to our goal and we’re happy about it, but winning is four more games, four really difficult games, and we have to be the best version of ourselves for four nights to reach our ultimate goal.