ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith had his reasons when explaining the why behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder clinching their first NBA championship since relocating to Oklahoma City. The Western Conference champions emerged victorious in Game 7, winning the hard-fought series 4-3 with a 103-91 victory at Paycom Center.
With the championship, Gilgeous-Alexander made his way into the record books to become the first player in 12 years in league history to win regular-season NBA MVP and NBA Finals MVP in the same season. The last player to accomplish the feat was LeBron James when he won the honors in the 2012-13 season when he was with the Miami Heat.
Gilgeous-Alexander joins an elite group, becoming only the fourth player in NBA history to win MVP, Finals MVP, and the scoring title in the same season, alongside Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Shaquille O’Neal.
Stephen A. Smith Explains Mindset Behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Thunder Winning The Championship
Speaking on ESPN’s First Take, Stephen A. Smith made his feelings clear on why the mercurial guard and the Thunder won the championship this season. Before diving into his thoughts, the analyst was quick to laud Gilgeous-Alexander. “It’s because of that brother right there, who, by the way, I want to applaud for reminding America and the world what you play for,” Smith said.
“And I know some people have tried to get us to forget about that, but you actually played to win some championships. It actually does matter. So I applaud him for that. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is something spectacular.”
“The road to title town is going to have to come through me. That’s what I saw in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.”@stephenasmith credits SGA for why the Thunder are NBA champions 🏆 pic.twitter.com/8ansGRxKYf
— First Take (@FirstTake) June 23, 2025
He further added that the Thunder’s elite mindset of wanting to dominate played a part in the team going the distance.
“At the end of the day, when you ask yourself, the biggest reason for the Thunder winning the title is that they have no intentions of going anywhere, anytime soon. The road to title town is going to have to come through me. That’s what I saw in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and that’s why Oklahoma City is the reigning champions right now.”
The Thunder were the league’s best team this season, finishing their regular season with 68 wins and a 68-14 record, marking their best record in franchise history. They posted the best point differential in NBA history, outscoring opponents by 12.9 points per game during the regular season.
During their championship run, they defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 4-0 in the first round, overcame the Denver Nuggets 4-3 in a thrilling second-round series, and beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 4-1 in the Western Conference finals. Only the Nuggets forced a seven-game series against Oklahoma City in their path to the Finals.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the driving force for the team throughout the season and showed up in the NBA Finals as well, averaging 30.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game. He led the league in scoring with 32.7 points per game during the regular season, and also showed his defensive prowess, earning a second-place Defensive Player of the Year vote.
This marks Oklahoma City’s first NBA championship since relocating from Seattle in 2008. The franchise’s previous championship came in 1979 when they were known as the Seattle SuperSonics. The Thunder are the second-youngest team to win an NBA championship, behind only the 1977 Portland Trail Blazers.
Now, all eyes will be on the reigning champions as they look to repeat their historic success in the upcoming season, with Gilgeous-Alexander established as one of the league’s elite superstars and the Thunder positioned as a potential dynasty with their young core.
