The Oklahoma City Thunder Are Growing Up Right Before Our Eyes And Now Sit Just One Win Away From Their First Ever NBA Title

Matthew Stockman. Getty Images.

There weren't too many questions about the Thunder heading into these playoffs. When you have the type of historic season they did combined with the roster and coaching they have, what is there to really say? The only thing people knocked them for was their youth and inexperience, given that NBA history tells us that more often than not, you need to get your "playoff scars" before you ultimately break through. 

During their 2025 playoff run, they've certainly had to find a way to navigate those tough playoff moments. There was the 30 point comeback against the Grizzlies in Round 1, the 2-1 comeback againt the Nuggets in Round 2, which included taking care of business in a Game 7. Against the Wolves, they responded from a 40 point ass kicking by taking the next two games to win the series in 5 to punch their ticket to the Finals.

Once in the Finals, they dealt with the brutal Haliburton game winner in Game 1 followed by yet another 2-1 series hole. How did they respond to this latest playoff test?

They've once again responded with another huge performance and now sit just one win away from their first ever NBA title (grow up, don't count 1979 for the Sonics). In Game 4 it was about SGA saving the Thunder from disasater by scoring 15 points over the final 5 mintues to avoid the 3-1 hole. To many, that was the NBA title right there. As someone who experienced that shit in 2022, I certainly felt that way. You can't blow your kill shot when you have the favorites on the ropes. Why? Because shit like this is what happens in Game 5

What we saw in Game 5 was the Thunder growing up right before our eyes. They played like champions. In a 2-2 swing Game 5 that NBA history says pretty much decides the champion, they were dominant. Their two franchise players setting the tone, this was about as ideal a performance as you could have hoped for as a Thunder fan. The JDub performance especially. With how he's been playing these last 3 games, it's completely changed everything for the Thunder. You know SGA is going to get his 30+, he does that shit in his sleep. But it's the performance of JDub over these last 3 that makes the Thunder trule devastating. He shouldered the load in the non-SGA minutes, when SGA was on the court, he found the perfect lanes to play off his gravity and then feast once he got in space. Add in the transition buckets, and these are the types of performances that you look back on and realize won you the title. Every series has those games, and this year it's the JDub/SGA Game 5. 

Advertisement

When the Thunder are at their best, they completely melt your brain. They turn NBA teams into a collection of players who look as if they've never played the sport before, and that's how it's been since October. This was a 2 point game with about 8:30 lefft in the 4th quarter. The Pacers were making a run, Pascal Siakam was going nuclear, and it looked like we were in store for an unreal finish.

Instead, the Thunder essentially broke the Pacers

Turnover after turnover after turnover. A total of 22 in the game, which translated to 32 points for the Thunder. They won the points off turnover battle 32-9, and as we've seen all year, when you are that careless against the Thunder, you're dead. I know the Pacers won Game 1 wigth 27, but that shit is fake. What we saw in Game 5 is what really happens when you turn the ball over against this OKC defense.

When it comes to winning the Larry O'Brien trophy, the beauty in that journey is that you have to go out and take it. It's right there for the taking, but it will not be given to you. The team that can impose their will and execute comes out victorious, and that's exactly what the Thunder did in Game 5. The Pacers gave them life, and this is what it looks like when a team collectively takes advantage of that life, and why that Game 4 was so devastating for the Pacers. They played with their food and are now dealing with the reality of what happens when you make that mistake on the biggest stage.

They had their shot to go up 2-0 and blew it. They then had another shot to go up 3-1, and blew it. Those are two potential kill shot games that you absolutely need to have if you're going to pull off this level of upset. To drop them both is gut wrenching, but not exactly new. Losing back to back games for the first time all playoffs coming in the Finals stings, but follows a familiar series. We're basically experiencing the 2022 NBA Finals all over again. So much so that we even had another Wiggins have a huge Game 5 at home for the victor, only this time it was Aaron Wiggins. 

For the Thunder to win the title, they were going to have to show that even despite their age and relative inexperience in terms of multiple deep playoff runs, they were ready to grow up and capitalize on the moment. That's my takeaway from their playoff run so far. They've grown up. They've shown they are ready. From the historic season, hitting 40/20, showing championship level resiliency in every round of their run, showing up big in the biggest moments of the Finals, these are all things that we see championship teams do.

Now the Thunder are just 1 win away from reaching the top of the mountain, and it's hard to imagine a world in which they don't get there.