On Sunday night, the OKC Thunder finally vanquished the Indiana Pacers 103-92 in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, giving the team its first NBA Championship in franchise history.
The seven game series was a surprisingly exciting one, and while it lacked superstar names such as LeBron, Curry or Giannis, the Finals introduced fans to a new superstar and a team built around old school basketball fundamentals.
The Thunder had the NBA’s best overall record during the regular season at 68-14 while the Pacers finished 50-32, fourth best in the East.
While the Thunder basically rolled through the Western Conference Playoffs, the Pacers were fighting hard and proving the doubters wrong in every round.
First they took out Giannis and the Bucs 4-1. Then they stunned NBA fans by beating up the Cleveland Cavaliers, the no.1 seed in the East, 4-1. Then it was time to face the Knicks, who had upset the Celtics.
After pulling off a Game 1 stunner, the Pacers whittled New York down in six games with pick-and-rolls and timely threes to reach the Finals.
This was when their surprising run was supposed to end, but no one told Indiana that.
It was a back and forth Finals series, with no team dominating an entire game except for the Pacers in Game 6.
Unfortunately, Indiana’s star guard Tyrese Haliburton went down early in the first quarter in Game 7, with most predicting that he tore his Achilles.
It was a devastating blow to the team and everyone felt the pain as Haliburton punched the court in agony.
Yet for the next two quarters, the Pacers rallied and actually held a one point lead at halftime.
But as the third quarter progressed, you could tell the Pacers were hurting without their leader. In the end, the Thunder had too much firepower to overcome.
This morning, some are claiming that the Pacers would have won it if Haliburton hadn’t gotten hurt.
That’s unfair for injuries are part of the game and no one could say with absolute certainty what would have happened if Haliburton hadn’t gotten injured. The series made that clear as neither team was decisively better than the other.
And that’s why the Thunder deserved this title.
Not just because of their overall record or because they had Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (29 points, 12 assists, 5 rebounds), who became the first player in 25 years, and the fourth player in NBA history, to win NBA MVP, the regular season scoring title, and NBA title and NBA Finals MVP (Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaq were the first three to do it).
No, they deserved it because they beat the best team in the Eastern Conference, something the best teams in the East couldn’t.
The Pacers weren’t favored or the most well liked team, but they were the best team because they were a real team. And it was a team that Giannis, Donovan Mitchell and Jalen Brunson couldn’t beat.
But the Thunder did.
The did it thanks to Shai and a late game awakening by rising star Jalen Williams (20 points).
They overcame the incredible performance of potential NBA Finals MVP Pascal Siakam, the gutsy effort of T.J. McConnell and the big threes from Obi Toppin.
They fought through the tough defense and fearless play of Aaron Nesmith and Andrew Nembhard.
And in the end, the pressured the Pacers into 21 turnovers while only committing 7.
The Thunder have the potential to be the NBA’s next dynasty for they’re young, have a superstar and are loaded with future draft picks.
So don’t question OKC’s title because of Haliburton’s injury.
Instead, applaud the Thunder for winning the NBA Championship and respect them for doing what others could not.
