OKC Thunder Monthly Recap: June 2025

Just as it had done before the first round and conference semifinals, the Oklahoma City Thunder began June in an extended break.

Oklahoma City had earned seven full days of rest between bludgeoning the No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals and opening the NBA Finals against the No. 4 Indiana Pacers — the league's only basketball during the month.

The Finals, of course, lasted as long as they possibly could. Seventeen days separated Tyrese Haliburton breaking Paycom Center hearts with a last-second 21-footer in Game 1 on June 5 and the Thunder completing its dream season with a 12-point Game 7 victory in the same building. The series length and heightened stakes brought forth game-by-game overreactions, emotional whiplash, powerful narratives and relentless competition from both teams.

Thunder players, coaches, executives and fans will not soon forget June 22. Seventeen seasons with countless highs and lows underneath the Marianas Trench led up to a nerve-wracking bout between the NBA's two most conditioned squads. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 29 points and 12 assists, Jalen Williams dropped 20 points, four rebounds and four assists, and Chet Holmgren tallied 18 points, eight rebounds (two offensive) and five blocks in Oklahoma City's title clincher.

In the two-day 2025 NBA Draft, the Thunder selected Georgetown center Thomas Sorber with the No. 15 overall pick on June 25 and Northwestern wing Brooks Barnhizer with the No. 44 pick on June 26.

Player of the Month: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Gilgeous-Alexander secured 71 of 100 regular-season MVP votes, all nine Western Conference Finals MVP votes and all 11 NBA Finals MVP votes to complete his best career campaign. He averaged 30.3 points on 44.3% shooting, 5.6 assists, 4.6 rebounds, 1.9 steals and 1.6 blocks during the Finals, scoring over 30 points in four games and reaching double-digit assists twice. The 26-year-old made just eight of 33 (24.2%) 3-pointers but shot 70% on 20 rim attempts and 45.7% on 105 mid-range attempts. Gilgeous-Alexander became the first player since 1999-00 Shaquille O'Neal to win the regular-season scoring title, regular-season MVP and Finals MVP in the same season.

Play of the Month: Gilgeous-Alexander's Game 4 Clutch Takeover

The Thunder found itself in a 2-1 series hole and down by seven points entering Game 4's fourth quarter — by far its most strenuous situation of the entire season. Gilgeous-Alexander played 11 minutes, 12 seconds in that final frame and scored 15 points on 3-for-6 shooting, making all eight free-throw attempts. He drilled two at the line after catching Aaron Nesmith's left arm in the cookie jar, swished a right-wing 3-pointer from Williams and nailed a baseline pull-up over Nesmith on three straight trips to turn Oklahoma City's two-possession deficit into a one-point lead with 2:23 remaining. The Thunder held on for a 111-104 win to take back home-court advantage.