The Oklahoma City Thunder took down the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals. This win saw the Thunder win its first-ever NBA title, and they finished off the storybook season. By many numbers, Oklahoma City was the best team in the NBA all year long. The Thunder won 68 games and clinched the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.

Thunder Solve Gritty Pacers to Win NBA Finals originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Understandably, the most enduring images surrounding the 2025 NBA Finals won’t feature the Oklahoma City Thunder embracing each other, hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy or even struggling to pop champagne bottles.

When the Thunder set out to build a champion, they learned hard lessons from how their historic trio of KD, Russell Westbrook and James Harden flamed out a decade ago.