Oklahoma City is in a great position to take part in the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012 and win the first title of the franchise that lived in Seattle in 1979.
Thunder Storm passes WCF’s Timberwolves, punch ticket to the NBA Finals
The Oklahoma City Thunder looked as dominant as ever after closing the Timberwolves 4-1 in the Western Conference Finals. A trip to the NBA Finals awaits.
Sports Pulse
The Oklahoma City Thunder is the 2025 NBA champion.
Well, it’s not official.
Officially, they are the 2025 Western Conference champions after eliminating the Minnesota Timberwolves in the five-game conference final.
But you know where this is heading.
Thunder was the best team during the NBA regular season.
They won the Western Conference. Game 5 was a dismantling. There was no doubt that the 124-94 lightning victory was absent.
They can play the best style of their opponents and play it better. You can grow bigger, smaller, go deeper into the bench, win with an offense that includes three pointers, win with defense, win with stars.
Sorry Indiana. Sorry New York. It’s not your year.
Oklahoma City was in the final for the first time since 2012, resided in Seattle in 1979 and has a great position to win the franchise’s first title since being called the Super Sonics.
“They are very professional and consistently professional. They are people with high characters. They come from a circle of high characters and are incredibly competitive,” Thunder director Mark Daygoon said. “They are team-first, more than anything, they embody the whole meaning of being a team, and they deserve this because they embody all the meaning of being a team.
“They deserve the opportunity we have right now. I couldn’t be happy for them. They invest a lot in their games, but they also invest a lot in each other and their team.
Sweeping out the declaration is a harmless effort, but there is no reason to believe that the Thunder will not become an NBA champion in the coming weeks.
Everyone can see it.
Thunder doesn’t want to hear it, and should not. Before Game 5, Daigneault spoke about staying in the present. That’s the right thing, and the right thing. What is in front of you at that moment is the most important thing. Achieving your goals is a series of achievements that require meticulous focus.
They are heading into the season for this moment, with epic plans – building another candidate through drafts, trades and free agency.
Prior to this season, the group had not won multiple series. Despite being the first seed last season, they lost in the second round. They have found a way to bypass some growing pains in the playoffs this season, learn lessons in real time, finish the game and close the series.
For teams that have never won a closed-out game in the conference finals, Thunder answered a lingering question about Resolve.
“I think it’s like a moment of confronting adversity that we don’t actually have during the regular season and that’s what we do. That’s where we grew up as a team,” Jalen Williams said. “I think the final series was big for us. That was our first game 7 and we got through the hump in the second round. That was a big deal for us.”
Their top-ranked defense delayed Nicola Jokic in the conference semi-finals and put the brakes on Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle in the conference finals. Daigneault and his coaching staff develop development and game plans, and there are defenders who will do it, whether they take Jokic’s passing lane or double-team Edwards.
If there was any doubt about Shay Gilgas Alexander’s MVP, he erased the uncertainty. It was an MVP performance, and in Game 5 he received 34 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. It was his seventh game with his last 8 points. He had a playoff career high of 40 in Game 4, averaged 31.4 points, shot 45.7% in the series and won the Western Conference Finals MVP.
“I wanted two things,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I didn’t want to go back to Minnesota, and I wanted to make sure the fans could enjoy the moment with us. I wanted to see them unfold in front of their eyes. Celebrating tonight in our building, going home, getting drunk, whatever they did, I wanted them to give the moment fun. Deserve.”
Thunder is far from a solo show. Jalen Williams has won his first All-NBA team this season, and Chet Holmgren heads out for an All-Star appearance with the ability to acquire, rebound and protect the rims. Williams had 19 points, eight rebounds, five assists, one block and one steel, while Holmglen had 22 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. Lu Dort made an outstanding defense, and center Isaiah Hertenstein was a sensible offseason signature that added to the diversity of Oklahoma City.
Alex Caruso, Cathon Wallace, Aaron Wiggins, Isaiah Joe, Kenrich Williams and Jaylin Williams give Daigneault more options.
They are improved by games and series, and with each victory they look increasingly invincible in the series.
“We’re now one step closer to our goal and we’re happy about it,” Gilgaus Alexander said. “But winning is still four games, four really difficult games to win, and we have to be our best version for four nights to achieve our ultimate goal. And we understand that. That’s what we’re paying attention to.”
This is a team that writes the 2025 NBA champions.
(This story has been updated with additional information.)
Follow NBA columnist Jeff Zillgitt on social media @jeffzillgitt
