NBA Finals: Oklahoma City wins its first championship title after beating Indiana in the seventh and final game

The Thunder, led by their MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, beat the Pacers (103-91) on Sunday evening at the end of a final electric match, notably marked by the serious injury of Indiana's star point guard, Tyrese Haliburton.

The Oklahoma City Thunder, led by their Canadian MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (29 points, 12 assists), won their first NBA title at home on Sunday, June 22, against the Indiana Pacers. They won 103-91 in an electric Game 7 to clinch the series 4-3 and seal their title, but struggled for a long time against the Pacers, who were without their best player, Tyrese Haliburton, who came off injured after seven minutes of play.

The Thunder, heirs to the 1979 Seattle SuperSonics, thus won their first title since moving to Oklahoma in 2008. "OKC" first reached the finals in 2012 under Kevin Durant but was dominated by Miami and LeBron James.

Thirteen years later, the franchise, which has changed everything except general manager Sam Presti, has patiently built a defensive steamroller, thanks to young players and a coach barely older, Mark Daigneault (40 years old). "They behave like champions. They support each other, that's rare in professional sports. I repeat, they are an extraordinary team, and now they are champions," commented the American coach.

Oklahoma City Thunder tight end Ousmane Dieng has become the seventh Frenchman to be crowned NBA champion . The forward, who played a few seconds late in Sunday's game, joins Tony Parker (San Antonio, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014), Rodrigue Beaubois and Ian Mahinmi (Dallas, 2011), Ronny Turiaf (Miami, 2012), Boris Diaw (San Antonio, 2014) and Axel Toupane (Milwaukee, 2021) in the North American league's list of all-time winners.