Three Takeaways from the Oklahoma City Thunder's Championship-Winning Game 7 Victory

The 2025-26 Oklahoma City Thunder is now etched in NBA history, claiming the organization's first Larry O'Brien trophy following a Game 7 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Sunday evening.

It's a testament to the organization's masterfulness from top to bottom, ball boys to staff to players and everything in the middle. General manager Sam Presti has fostered this environment of meticulous perfection, and it's finally paid off in the sweetest way possible with an NBA championship brought back to Oklahoma City.

In Game 7, the Thunder fought behind an electric Paycom Center crowd and found itself with a 103-91 victory leveraged by its primary trio of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren.

Let's take a look at a few takeaways from the Thunder's most vital win in organization history:

SGA Takes Finals MVP

The hardware king, Gilgeous-Alexander was awarded the NBA Finals MVP for his performances across the seven-game series, with a very impactful one in Game 7.

It's been an all-around historic season for Gilgeous-Alexander and could be compared to the likes of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant with the feats he accomplished. Capturing the Finals MVP, regular season MVP and regular season scoring title marks him as just the fourth-ever NBA player to do so, highlighting his excellence this season.

Across the series, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 30.3 points on 44.3% shooting along with 1.6 blocks and 1.9 steals per game in 38.1 minutes a night.

It's been a masterful season for this superstar, and his future is as bright as any as he's already established a Hall-of-Fame resume at just 26 years of age.

OKC Trio Leaves it on the Court

The Thunder trio left it all out on the floor Sunday night when it was needed most.

Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams and Holmgren combined for 67 points en route to Oklahoma City's victory. Holmgren was a massively integral defensive force on the game, having five blocks and imposing his presence while Williams and Gilgeous-Alexander paired for three steals while both sinking two three-pointers apiece.

It was a night for them and a night for all Thunder players, achieving the gold standard of professional basketball in a picture-perfect atmosphere at Paycom Center, a crowd full of fans waiting for a moment like this.

Haliburton's Season Ends Early

It's not something any player ever wants to see, opponent or teammate.

Tyrese Haliburton, dealing with a calf strain for a large portion of the Finals series, pushed himself to his limit on Sunday night and it cost him. A devastating injury, Haliburton appeared to have potentially torn his achilles tendon in Game 7, an injury that left him crying in pain on the floor which seemed to stem from both the physical pain and the mental pain of having to leave his team out on the floor for a do-or-die game for the NBA championship.

An achilles tear has the possibility to be career threatening—every fan, player, writer and more could feel for Haliburton, and all hopes he returns to his impressive star-player form in due time.