The Thunder Rolls: Best. Storm. Ever.
The sky over Oklahoma City was lit up like a firework factory. But this wasn’t just the weather.
Nah.
It was the THUNDER.
Not the cloud kind. The basketball kind.
And they were about to do something that this city had never done before...
They were going to win a championship.
Boom Town … For Real.
It was Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
Not 5.
Not 6.
GAME. SEVEN.
The biggest, loudest, craziest, most important basketball game there is.
The Oklahoma City Thunder were facing the Indiana Pacers.
Winner gets a trophy.
Loser gets a sad ride home.
Inside the arena, fans were roaring like lions at a rock concert.
“LET’S GOOOOOOO!!!” screamed a kid wearing a mini Jalen Williams jersey.
“PRESTI FOR PRESIDENT!” barked an old man with a beard shaped like a thunderbolt.
And somewhere deep under all that noise...
...stood Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
He was quiet. Calm. Like a yogi at nap time.
But the shiny new Converse on his feet?
Squeak squeak.
They were ready.
HALIBURTON HOT SAUCE
The game started like a cartoon on fast-forward.
SWISH!
Tyrese Haliburton hit a three.
BOOM!
He hit another one.
KA-POW!
HE HIT ANOTHER ONE!!
Three 3s in, like, 3 seconds! (Not really, but it felt like it.)
“Somebody check his shoes!” shouted a fan. “They might be rocket-powered!”
Indiana zoomed out to a big lead.
12–4.
The Thunder were spinning. The scoreboard was blinking. The crowd was holding their breath.
But then...
OH NO...
Haliburton went down.
He grabbed his leg.
The crowd got quiet.
The game stopped.
Minutes passed. Felt like hours.
Tyrese tried to walk. Couldn’t do it.
He was going to need a doctor for this one.
And, so, with help from his friends, he made his way to the locker room.
And just like that, the game got weird.
T.J. vs. The Universe
With Haliburton out, Indiana looked confused.
Sort of like Mom does when she’s trying to find her phone.
(She always loses her phone.)
Enter: T.J. McConnell. He’s not the tallest. Or the flashiest. But boy oh boy...
Playing against him was like being trapped in the car with a hornet.
They ducked.
They dived.
ROLL THE WINDOWS DOWN!
It didn’t matter.
He stole the ball.
ZING!
He made a layup.
ZOOM!
He made another one.
And another.
And another?
AND ANOTHER.
“Someone stop that man!” cried the popcorn guy.
He scored 10 straight points for Indiana.
TEN!
It was like he became every Pacers player at once.
But the Thunder weren’t scared. They had someone else waking up...
J-Dub THE BULLDOZER
Jalen Williams cracked his knuckles.
He sniffed the air.
He gave his shooting hand a pep talk.
He squinted at the rim like it owed him money.
Then he bulldozed into the paint.
BOOM!
Layup.
BAM!
Dunk.
AND ONE!
J-Dub was everywhere. Elbows. Shoulders.
Knees and toes...?
The third quarter? It belonged to him.
He scored. He passed. He flexed.
The Pacers?
They looked like a bunch of pasta noodles out there trying to stop a charging rhino.
(I don’t think that would work …)
OKC took the lead.
THE QUIET STORM
While Dub was causing earthquakes...
Shai was doing … Shai things.
What are Shai things?
Dribbling through invisible holes
Floating like a leaf on the wind
Gliding to the rim like a ghost in sneakers
He slithered past defenders.
He rose up like a soap bubble.
He dropped in a floater with a flick of his fingers.
“Who is this guy?” asked a little boy.
“The MVP,” whispered his dad.
By the time the fourth quarter rolled around...
The Thunder were up 8.
A CITY HOLDS ITS BREATH
The fourth quarter felt like ...
… like when you’re on a rollercoaster that’s clicking up the hill…
... and everyone’s just waiting for the big drop.
Click.
Indiana hit a shot.
Thunder by 6.
Click.
T.J. McConnell steals it. Layup.
Thunder by 4.
Click.
A Thunder turnover.
OH NO!
But then…
WHOOSH.
J-Dub blocked a shot so hard it bounced off the court and into a guy’s nachos.
Thunder ball.
THE FINAL PUSH
There were 2 minutes left.
The score: OKC 93, Indiana 89.
And that’s when Shai said…
Nothing.
He just nodded.
He dribbled.
He crossed over. He stepped back. He shot.
SWISH!
A three-pointer so pretty, it could’ve won a beauty pageant.
Then he did it again.
And again.
The crowd exploded.
Babies cried.
Grannies danced.
Dogs howled from rooftops.
The final buzzer went off like a tornado siren.
OKC 103.
Indiana 91.
OKC CELEBRATION
Confetti rained down.
Blue. White. Orange. Thunderbolt-shaped.
Shai was handed the MVP trophy.
He didn’t smile big.
Just a small grin. The kind you earn.
Shai’s kinda like a Ninja.
Dub hugged Coach Daignault.
Lu hugged Chet.
Caruso hugged his headband.
Everyone hugged everyone.
For the first time ever ...
The Oklahoma City Thunder were NBA Champions.
And for the first time ever ...
The city of Oklahoma City was home to a real, live, glittering, golden professional sports championship trophy.
THE SKY RUMBLED
That night, the skies over OKC glowed.
The thunder was loud.
But not from clouds.
Well … also from the clouds.
But mostly … it came from a team that believed.
From a city that roared.
And from one very special Game 7…
...that ended with a THUNDERCLAP.
KABOOOOOOOM.
