OKC Thunder secures first NBA championship with Game 7 win vs Indiana Pacers | 5 takeaways

Blue-and-orange confetti fell from the rafters as the final buzzer sounded Sunday. It solidified the OKC Thunder's 103-91 win over the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

Indiana fans took shelter by heading toward the exits, leaving nothing but a sea of blue in the stands. Meanwhile, OKC's players shielded themselves by throwing on T-shirts with large text across the front.

NBA champions.

For the first time since the franchise's inception in 2008, OKC has won the NBA championship. And after recording 29 points and 12 assists in the closeout game, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the Finals MVP.

That marked the completion of the hat trick for the Canadian-born superstar. He's only the fourth player to ever win the scoring title, regular-season MVP and Finals MVP in the same season.

Here are four more takeaways from the game:

Tyrese Haliburton, Pacers gave it everything they had

Indiana emptied its entire bench to check on the star guard, who'd been playing through a right calf strain since Game 5. It's what doctors described to Haliburton on Wednesday as a two-week injury, according to ESPN's Shams Charania, and yet he still opted to suit up as the Pacers pursued their first NBA title.

But with about seven minutes left in the first quarter, Haliburton's right leg gave out on him while he attempted to drive toward the rim. The instant replay showed a pop near his calf.

It's one of the worst signs in basketball, commonly seen when a player tears his Achilles. Indiana initially described it as a right lower leg injury, and ESPN's Lisa Salters was later told by Haliburton's father that it is an Achilles injury.

Haliburton didn't return to the game, which he had dominated in the early going. He racked up a quick nine points on 3-for-4 shooting from deep.

But just like its All-NBA leader, Indiana showed fight. The Pacers continued to battle after Haliburton's departure and didn't give up until the final buzzer forced them to.

That marked the end of a gutsy showing this series by Indiana, which took the league's top team to seven games despite being the heavy underdog.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's split-second decisions were much sharper

Gilgeous-Alexander, known for drawing a crowd as soon as he steps off the team bus, wasn't bothered by the traffic in the paint.

Gilgeous-Alexander had two Indiana defenders attached to his hip as he neared the rim in the final minute of the second quarter. But he calmly found a rolling Isaiah Hartenstein for an acrobatic and-one layup.

Indiana had double-teamed the league's MVP all series, but it did a much better job of filling the gap Gilgeous-Alexander used to split those defenders. That caused him to finish with eight turnovers, which tied for a career-high total.

But Gilgeous-Alexander sliced the defense in Game 7 like a hot knife through Indiana's butter-colored jerseys. He repeatedly escaped blitzes and capitalized with either layups or assists to open teammates.

Gilgeous-Alexander only recorded one turnover, which marked his lowest total of the series.

Oklahoma City guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) looks to shoot in the fourth quarter during game 7 of the NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, on Sunday, June 22, 2025.

OKC pulled away by playing Thunder basketball

Hartenstein hasn't had many chances to show off his push shot this series.

It's a shot that served as one of the most sure-fire sources of buckets on the team this season. But those looks became hard to find for Hartenstein, who came off the bench for the first three games of the Finals and saw his minutes decline.

So when Hartenstein gathered a pass in the paint — pay dirt for his push shot — it seemed like he was poised to let it fly.

Hartenstein instead made the unselfish decision to kick it out to Cason Wallace, the same guy who'd started over him earlier in the series. And Wallace drilled the open 3-pointer.

That play came during a explosive third quarter by OKC, which outscored Indiana 34-20 to build an 81-68 lead, and it summed up the secret to its success.

Play Thunder basketball.

OKC pulled away from Indiana by sharing the basketball, recording 20 assists compared to Indiana's 17. It also dominated the turnover battle, 23-8, and converted those mistakes into 32 points.

OKC made championship-caliber plays, just like it has all season. Now, it has a trophy to prove it.

A perfect storm could be brewing in Oklahoma City

OKC began this season as the youngest team in the NBA. It ended it with a championship, an MVP winner in Gilgeous-Alexander, two All Stars, two All-NBA players, two All-Defensive players, the league's best record and the league's top-rated defense.

OKC will also enter this offseason with all of its rotational players under contract, and it has two first-round picks (No. 15 and No. 24) in the 2025 NBA Draft. Then there's the boatload of future draft picks that executive vice president and general manager Sam Presti has saved for a rainy day.

Now, the rest of the league could be in for some rainy days. The perfect storm appears to be brewing in Oklahoma City, as the Thunder is poised to contend for years to come.

Justin Martinez covers sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Justin? He can be reached at [email protected] or on X/Twitter at @Justintohoops. Sign up for the Thunder Sports Minute newsletter to access more NBA coverage. Support Justin's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.