Shai Gilgeous-Alexander steers Oklahoma City Thunder to NBA Finals triumph after Game 7 win over Indiana Pacers - 'It doesn't feel real'
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Published 23/06/2025 at 10:46 GMT+1
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wore a double crown on Sunday night after being named NBA Finals MVP and leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to their first NBA Championship since their move from Seattle 17 years ago. The Canadian put in yet another stunning performance as the Indiana Pacers lost out in the Game 7 decider. The loss was compounded by a first-quarter injury to star man Tyrese Haliburton.
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Video credit: TNT Sports
Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Oklahoma City Thunder to their first NBA championship since moving from Seattle in 2008.
After finish top of the Western Conference in the regular season, OKC completed a historic season on Sunday night to overcome the Indiana Pacers 4-3, requiring a 103-91 victory in Game 7.
Gilgeous-Alexander added to his raft of individual accolades for the campaign with a 29-point and 12-assist display in the decider, played at Oklahoma's Paycom Center, backing up his regular season MVP gong.
The Canadian struggled to comprehend the magnitude of the team's achievement and hoped his performance would help catapult him to "Hall of Fame" status.
"It doesn't feel real," Gilgeous-Alexander said post-game. "So many hours. So many moments. So many emotions. So many nights of disbelief. So many nights of belief.
"It's crazy to know that we're all here, but this group worked for it. This group put in the hours, and we deserve this.
"It's hard to believe that I'm part of that group. It's hard to even fathom that I'm that type of basketball player sometimes.
"As a kid, you dream. Every kid dreams. But you don't ever really know if it's going to come true. I'm just glad and happy that my dreams have been able to come true."
"Those are the minutes, those are the moments when the best players, the biggest stars, the superstars, Hall of Fame players, make their name. I want to have that name. I want to have those titles attached to my name."
The 26-year-old averaged 32.7 points in the regular season, dropping marginally to a rate of 30.3 in the Finals, making him the scoring champion, alongside his double MVP titles.
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Thunder team-mate Chet Holmgren, who helped his side win 84 games across the regular and post-season, said Sunday's win would ensure Gilgeous-Alexander's campaign will "go down in history as one of the greatest".
"That's going to go down in history as one of the greatest seasons that's ever been had by a player," said Holmgren.
"He really makes it a joy to be around. It's never about him. It's always about us. It's always about winning. His talent shines through all of that. We saw that all year. He's a hell of a basketball player, but he's an even better person."
The Pacers had pushed Oklahoma City all the way in the Finals, never once allowing their opponents a series lead until the final buzzer blasted on Sunday.
And their loss was compounded by Tyrese Haliburton suffering an early game-ending injury, later reported to be an Achilles by his father.
The point guard ended the season with the highest average assists - 9.3 - but was reduced to encouraging his team from the locker room and sideline after going down with 4:55 remaining in the first quarter.
"What happened with Tyrese, all of our hearts dropped," said Pacers coach Rick Carlisle. "And he was very much a part of a group that believed that they could do this.
"He will be back. I don't have any medical information about what may or may not have happened. But he'll be back in time."
"I'm proud of that kid," added Pacers team-mate Pascal Siakam. "He went through so much during the year. A lot of criticism. It's a lot for a young kid to go through, and he had a lot of stress. And he just kept fighting. He kept fighting every single day.
"He did some incredible things, this whole play-off run and this year. I'm just super proud of him.
"Obviously, it hurts because we couldn't get it done, and I wanted it so bad for him just because I know that he gave us everything, everything he had. It just hurts that he couldn't see it through with us."
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