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Thunder's subdued title celebration should scare the NBA
The Oklahoma City Thunder celebrated like they won the NBA Cup, not the NBA championship, on Sunday night.
Perhaps it was their collective age — the second-youngest NBA finalist in history — or the fact that they got to the mountaintop without enduring years of heartbreak. Now, compare that to last year when confetti rained down on TD Garden in Boston. Jayson Tatum burst into tears and yelled out, "Anything's possible!" replicating Kevin Garnett's iconic celebration from 2008, while the rest of the Celtics were equally animated after finally crossing the finish line following six years of painstaking NBA Finals and conference finals losses.
The Thunder were almost solemn after hoisting the Larry O'Brien Trophy. The Athletic's Marcus Thompson II described the locker-room scenes as the "most tempered" title celebration he had ever seen in any sport, resembling "an office party for someone who retired."
"Most of the players left. No champagne splashing. No yelling," he wrote. "I've seen celebrations from AL Wild Card clinchers more turnt."
The Thunder didn’t splash much champagne celebrating their ring
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) June 23, 2025
"That was the most tempered locker room I've seen after any championship." — @ThompsonScribehttps://t.co/MpYlUnXqJa pic.twitter.com/6VSc6Hq1Xo
OKC's business-like approach to a championship should alarm the NBA. The franchise is projected to own up to 15 first-round picks over the next five years. Jalen Williams, 24, and Chet Holmgren, 23, have only begun to tap into their potential. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 26, has displayed the work ethic to improve each year since entering the NBA, and there's no reason to think that trend won't persist.
This team promises to get incrementally better over the next few years, and it has already tasted a championship.
The scary part is OKC will only get better!
— DeMarcus Cousins (@boogiecousins) June 23, 2025
What's even scarier is that SGA is aware his team is just getting started.
"To win an NBA championship this young as a group is impressive," he told "SC with SVP" after winning Finals MVP. "We have so many guys who aren't even in their prime yet. Like Chet and Dub haven't even scratched the potential of what they think they can be. That's insane to me. It's crazy. We know we have room to grow, and that's the fun part."
"Fun" for OKC and its fan base. Not so much for 29 other teams.
More must-reads:
- Takeaways from NBA Finals Game 7: SGA, Thunder reach the mountaintop
- Kevin Durant posts six-word reaction to Thunder winning NBA title
- The 'Most points in a quarter of an NBA Finals game' quiz
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