For the first time ever, the Oklahoma City Thunder have reached the mountain top, beating the Indiana Pacers in a win or go home game seven, becoming NBA Champions.
Superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hoisted the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy and the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player award in front of more than 18,000 fans in Oklahoma City after leading the Thunder with 30.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.8 blocks in the Finals.
The former Wildcat posted 29 points, 12 assists, and five rebounds in the series defining game where the Thunder won 103-91. Gilgeous-Alexander led the NBA Finals in points.
Not only is Gilgeous-Alexander making NBA history for becoming only the 11th player to win league MVP, the NBA Finals and Finals MVP, but he joins an exclusive club of Hall of Famers, consisting of Willis Reed, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Kareem Olajuwon, Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan and LeBron James.
James was the last “triple-crown” winner in 2013 as a member of the Miami Heat.
Gilgeous-Alexander made Kentucky history by becoming the first ever former Kentucky player to win Finals MVP. Last month, Gilgeous-Alexander made history by becoming the first Kentucky alum to earn league MVP.
This was an incredibly impressive feat considering Gilgeous-Alexander is one out of 137 ex-Kentucky players to play professional basketball, and now is the only one to claim those honors.
Another fellow Wildcat, Cason Wallace, joined Gilgeous-Alexander in a historic list of fellow Kentucky products to win the NBA Finals. The most recent players consist of Jamal Murray in 2023, Anthony Davis and Rajon Rondo in 2020, Jodie Meeks in 2019, and Rondo’s first ring in 2008, respectively.
Wallace averaged six points and 2.6 rebounds in the season-defining series.
This NBA Championship is technically the second in the organization’s history, with the first coming in 1979 as the Seattle SuperSonics defeated the Washington Bullets in five games. However, this marks the first time the franchise has boasted an NBA Championship as the Oklahoma City Thunder.
In 2008, the SuperSonics, with a rookie Kevin Durant, left Seattle and relocated to the midwest and rebranded as the Thunder. Five years later, the Thunder, led by future MVPs Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden, would lose in five games to the Miami Heat.
It has truly been an unforgettable season for Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder. Oklahoma City accomplished the unthinkable, winning the most games in it history with an NBA-best 68-14 record.
The Thunder swept the Memphis Grizzlies in round one, beat the Denver Nuggets in a seven-game series and bested the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games to win the Western Conference Championship en route to their NBA Finals victory.
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