The Finals' 10 most important Thunderers

The Oklahoma City Thunder captured their first-ever NBA championship with a dominant third quarter in Sunday’s Game 7, capping off the most exciting (and devastating) playoffs of my lifetime. Congratulations to them and their fans!

I know everyone wants to talk about Tyrese Haliburton’s devastating injury and what it means for him, the Indiana Pacers, and the balance of power in the Eastern Conference. I’m not ready for that yet. I don’t want to lose sight of how personally horrific this will be for him on a human level (and that goes for all of the players who have torn their Achilles this season — and there are a lot!). I’m still in the middle of recovering from a major knee injury myself, and it isn’t a quarter as bad as what Haliburton will have to go through just in his day-to-day life for the next 12-18 months-ish. It sucks! Never mind what this might mean for his professional career; Haliburton admitted to mental health struggles during his last injury, which wasn’t nearly as severe. I hope he can navigate these dark, choppy waters with the love and support of those around him.

So we’ll get to Haliburton sometime soon, but for now, let’s focus on the newly-crowned champions.

Oklahoma City was one of history’s greatest regular-season teams, and they survived two different Game 7s to earn their first Larry O’Brien. With SGA squarely in his prime, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren on the come-up, and a talented, young, and cost-controlled supporting cast, there isn't any reason to believe that this core can’t win many more titles in the future.

In fact, this team is so well-constructed for success both now and in the future that I’m having nightmares. I don’t want to go back to the days when the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors were stone-cold locks to make the Finals every year! Sure, we live in the apron age now, which is specifically designed to prevent dynasties. The second apron successfully brought the hammer down on Denver (among others) and Boston (the Jrue Holiday trade broke right as I was finishing this up; I’ll have thoughts out on that soon), two teams that previously seemed ripe for long reigns.

However, the difference with the Thunder is that their draft assets (overflowing) and roster age (youthful) are typically associated with the start of a rebuild. Instead, they’re champions. They can count on massive internal improvement from the league’s best core while easily replacing (via draft or trade) any supporting characters who become too old or expensive. It’s a masterpiece of team-building; I’m terrified.

We can dig into that more later in the summer, however. For now, just like I did for the Celtics last year, I want to power rank the Finals’ most important Thunderers.

10. Aaron Wiggins

Wiggins is a pro’s pro. Although he sometimes struggled defensively in the Finals, he also poured in 18 points in Game 2 and 14 in Game 5, both Thunder wins. He can do a little bit of everything on offense, and I’d bet he’d have a bigger role on a shallower team.

It’s a testament to Wiggins that he stayed an important part of the playoff rotation throughout the entire run (I actually have a little bit more written about Wiggins for later this summer, so stay tuned!).

9. Cason Wallace

Wallace wasn’t at his best in the Finals, but he’s a 21-year-old lockdown artist who’s shown some nifty passing and off-the-dribble ability. He regularly started and closed games for the NBA Champion, and I can’t wait to see what he cooks up in the lab this summer.

8. Isaiah Hartenstein

As I predicted, Hartenstein didn’t play huge minutes in the Finals, but he did earn back his starting spot from Game 4 on. It’s no coincidence that the Thunder won three of those games.

Hartenstein survived better than expected defensively, but his real value came offensively. The Pacers’ defense mostly kept the Thunder’s halfcourt offense in jail, but Hartenstein’s offensive rebounding and passing kept things moving whenever things bogged down too much. Several times, he alchemized those attributes into a single golden play:

Hartenstein’s heft gave coach Mark Daigneault another situational weapon to throw at the Pacers, and he made the most of his opportunities with timely contribution after timely contribution.

7. Lu Dort

Just as he did in the regular season, Dort killed the Pacers from deep whenever they gave him the opportunity. He finished the series shooting 45% on his moonballs from beyond the arc, even after going 2-for-9 in Game 7.

That stat perhaps overstates Dort’s offensive impact, but his defense was predictably fantastic (despite some floppy-fish tendencies). He sometimes felt like the only Thunder player who could keep up with Indiana’s pesky TJ McConnell.

I always talk about how real 3-and-D guys are far rarer and more important than we realize — it’s not a surprise that the two Finalists were replete with them. Dort, for all his inconsistency, is one of the best. This ranking feels too low.

6. Chet Holmgren

Holmgren didn’t necessarily have a better series than Dort, but the Thunder also don’t have anyone who can replicate his skill set like Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace can with the Dorture Chamber. Scarcity matters, and while Holmgren’s shot disappeared like a startled pigeon, his defense never wavered. Five blocks in Game 7 of the NBA Finals (a record) is about as impactful as a rim protector can be.

Holmgren will never be worse than he is now, and he is already a surefire starter with unique two-way abilities. Basketball gods help the rest of the league when that jumper becomes ready for the big stage.

5. Mark Daigneault (and staff)

Last year’s Coach of the Year winner and his guys and gals on the benches and in the trenches have consistently delivered throughout the season.

I’ve noted before that Daigneault didn’t have a perfect playoff run. But his errors are typically sins of activity, which I find far superior to making no adjustments at all.

Daigneault messed around with rotations daily, unleashed Williams/Gilgeous-Alexander screening actions they barely used in the regular season to open up the offense, and routinely toggled between different defensive matchups. He also deserves tremendous credit for getting his players to buy into the unpredictability. Most players prefer stability, so they know what to expect; the Thunder were changing even SGA’s substitution patterns on a game-to-game basis (something they did in the regular season, too).

Other coaches could have won a championship with this roster. But Daigneault also guided his players to two huge Game 7 victories; plenty of jefes would have failed under the pressure. OKC players and staff have consistently said that their steady locker room is a big part of their success. It flows from the top.

Daigneault is already one of the league’s best coaches. He’s also one of its youngest. If things break right, he could be poised for a Gregg Popovich-like run.

4. Alex Caruso

Caruso’s limitations are real, and even in these Finals, there were times when he was a noticeable offensive liability.

But there were far more instances in which he was an avaricious ball-snatching demon from the fourth circle of hell, a one-man defensive wrecking crew. His 17 steals led the series. Caruso was at his best when it mattered most, dropping 20 unexpected points and five pilfers in that pivotal Game 4 win, crushing the Pacers with beautiful cuts on one end and snatching their souls on the other. They never saw him coming:

This is exactly what the Thunder hoped for when they traded Josh Giddey for Caruso. He stayed healthy and proved to be the most impactful defender in the playoffs, taking over games in a uniquely Carusian way. Now, he has a championship ring for each hand.

3. Jalen Williams

Was anyone else worried when Williams started the series like the second coming of Antoine Walker? Just me? Good on you all for keeping the faith.

Thankfully, Williams remembered how to put the ball in the hoop. He was the perfect complementary attacker for the rest of the series, and even had a 40-piece in Game 5. As SGA delivered jab after needle-like jab, Williams swung the uppercut:

I’ll never forget that fifth game, when Williams rampaged to the rim repeatedly with his oddly hunchbacked gait, a muscle car with a brick on the gas pedal. He even briefly earned himself some Finals MVP buzz before voters came to their senses.

Williams has an uncommon combination of strength and three-level touch, and he’s dramatically improved every year of his career. As long as he doesn’t fall victim to alcohol’s abusive embrace (that’s a joke, people), he has a chance to become the league’s best second option as soon as next season. Heck, he might have earned that distinction already!

2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

What else is there to say about the Finals MVP and regular-season MVP that hasn’t already been said?

Jared Dubin noted at Last Night, In Basketball that SGA put up more counting numbers on better efficiency than Michael Jordan or peak James Harden this regular season, and he mostly carried that over through to the playoffs. While he never quite put Indiana in a stranglehold single-handedly, he did more than enough scoring and playmaking to fulfill his job as the #1 option on a championship team (obviously) without sacrificing his defensive playmaking (he averaged more deflections on a per-minute basis than even Caruso!)

Gilgeous-Alexander was the best player on the floor in the Finals by a substantial margin, and his fourth-quarter stretch in Game 4 won OKC the series’ most pivotal match. He’s incredibly fun to watch (give or take the same foul-drawing tendencies every star player practices) with balletic footwork and the deepest dribble/shot bag in the game; I don’t think people properly appreciate his technical artistry yet. His magic is in moving so slowly and yet staying ahead of his opponents, controlling every inch of the hardwood:

A few days shy of 27, his best may still be yet to come.

1. Sam Presti (and staff)

It’s better to be lucky than good, but it’s way, way better to be both.

Oklahoma City hasn’t hit on every move they’ve made; Ousmane Dieng’s face popping up on the confetti-strewn championship stage was a good reminder of that. A surprising number of their pick swaps have returned lower than expected value, and even the best gamblers roll Gordon Haywards snake-eyes sometimes. But they’ve gotten every important move right for nearly a decade now.

You’ve probably heard about the food triangle truism. Most people grade food on three axes: convenience, healthiness, and price. Conventional wisdom holds that it’s impossible for food to be fast, healthy, and cheap all at once; two out of three is usually the best you can do. (I’m not a foodie, so don’t @ me about this.)

There is a basketball equivalent. Having an organization with talented players, a deep war chest of picks, and a healthy balance sheet is almost impossible. The Thunder have pulled off all three to the greatest degree we’ve seen in the modern era.

Presti and his staff deserve credit for incrementally upgrading OKC’s talent level and draft capital year after year without ever blowing up their finances. This season, Presti earned the NBA’s Executive of the Year award for adding Hartenstein and Caruso to fortify their defensive depth even further instead of panic-trading for a big-name scorer after last year’s disappointing second-round loss. (He also signed Wiggins and Isaiah Joe to longer-term, team-friendly deals that are eminently tradeable if need be, but that isn’t as sexy to talk about.)

Team executives around the league are smarter and more well-supported (via minions, financial flexibility, and greater analytical understanding) than ever before, yet Presti has emerged as the creamiest of the crop. He is the most important Oklahoma City resident for this Finals victory — and will be for all future parades, too.