Our Okies of the Year: The Oklahoma City Thunder
Published November 2025
By Ben Luschen | 11 min read
There are two things people all around the world know about Oklahoma City. The first is a tragic event: the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. The second is the Oklahoma City Thunder, the reigning champions of the National Basketball Association.
This is the strange duality of being from OKC: Famous to outsiders for our individual darkest and brightest days, each entirely out of our control, but in private, defined by all the unseen days in between. It’s the same nose-to-the-grindstone mindset that’s come to define the Thunder and their chairman, Clayton I. Bennett. This bunch is more than our pride and joy; they’re Okie through and through.
“The dream of becoming a Major League City was an organic vision shared by the many who made it happen. It was truly the unified effort of city leadership, the business community, and most importantly, the public—our fans—who were the energy behind it all,” says Bennett. “And now, eighteen years into our history, I feel it even more.”
Thunder players Aaron Wiggins, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Luguentz Dort pose for Oklahoma Today's November-December cover shoot. Photo by Jackson Adair
When Oklahoma City finally did join the storied ranks of Big League Cities in 2008, it was supposed to be a move that put the municipality and state on the same map as the other name-brand metropolises known to dot the sports landscape. These cities might all be in the club, but Oklahoma City’s eighteen-year journey in the NBA has been something few if any will find relatable.
In less than two decades, the Oklahoma City Thunder has seen three separate stars win the Most Valuable Player award. The Detroit Pistons, who joined the NBA in 1949, have never had an MVP. Six Thunder players have gone on to be named NBA All-Stars—four on multiple occasions. Former players James Harden and Carmelo Anthony have had Hall of Fame-caliber careers outside of OKC. The team has won a league championship, played for another, and won more than 58 percent of its games. In fact, OKC has only been left out of postseason play in four seasons. No modern fanbase has seen this high a rate of success.
Yet this current bunch, the one that finally brought home the iconic Larry O’Brien Trophy, is anything but an ensemble of blue-chip, pre-anointed divas. Like most of the fans they represent, these are players who fought to earn their keep. Starting forward Luguentz Dort wasn’t selected in the NBA draft. Explosive bench scorer Aaron Wiggins was a second-round pick. Even the reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, arguably the current best basketball player on this planet, was never expected to reach these lofty heights: The first ten teams in the 2018 draft decided they’d rather have someone else.
Thunder chairman Clay Bennet moved the Thunder to Oklahoma City in 2008. He, along with the Thunder organization, are our 2025 Okies of the Year. Photo by Jackson Adair
Aaron Wiggins. Photo by Jackson Adair
As Wiggins sees it, players who truly buy in to the team-first Thunder way will have a harder time failing than succeeding. This is in part due to the tone set by the organization and the support offered to players by team personnel. More than that, there’s something intentional about the type of athlete the Thunder brings into its fold.
“I think a lot of us are just dogs,” Wiggins says. “We’ll go through the mud to find a way to make it work. We found success by having that mentality to just make it happen regardless of what’s thrown in front of us.”
The current players deserve every accolade, but the foundation was built by those who came before them. Long before Oklahoma City’s ring ceremony in October, an extensive list of characters made game nights special. There was Desmond Mason as Oklahoma’s homegrown NBA ambassador. There was Russell Westbrook leaving every ounce of effort on the court each game. We all wanted to be friends with Nick Collison and Steven Adams. We all saw the poetry in Chris Paul’s return to the capital city. Even Kevin Durant’s improbable turn from seemingly infallible fan darling to heel antagonist has become an endearing part of that legacy. With the trophy at home in OKC forever, every loss, every setback, every fallen tear, every salty bead of sweat feels indisputably worth it. At the summit, each step was as necessary as the last.
In June, the Thunder battled it out with the Indiana Pacers, winning four of seven games in the NBA Finals. Photo by Jimmy Do/OKC Thunder
Our favorite athletes and entertainers can sometimes feel so distant, but when Shai and other Thunder players chose to get off their shuttles and walk amongst the half-million fans during the Thunder Championship Parade in downtown Oklahoma City on June 24, it broke a fourth wall that finally made the win feel real.
“We’re on the court, and it looks like a stage, right?” says Gilgeous-Alexander. “And the fans are watching the game and watching us perform. We feel the love when we’re playing, but to be next to them, running around with them, being able to interact with them that closely, you feel it in a different way.”
It can be easy to feel, at times, that the differences between people create irreconcilable rifts between factions. But at a parade with half a million people—all races, all ages, all backgrounds, all beliefs—united for a common purpose, joined in shared jubilation without issue, breaking all historic precedent in this state, the premise that there’s no common ground just doesn’t hold water. Utopia was here in Oklahoma City, if just for a day.
Thunder fans don’t want this feeling to end, and there’s reason to believe more days like this could be on the horizon. Every key contributor from last season’s dominant team returns this year to defend the title. There has been a lot of talk among basketball fans about the Thunder’s ability to financially retain all its players beyond this season, but the Big Three of Shai, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren are under contract for the team until at least 2030. By then, they will have moved into a new $900 million arena across the street from their current home, promising both state-of-the-art sports viewing and a full district of ancillary retail, dining, and entertainment.
Aaron Wiggins, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Luguentz Dort interview for the Oklahoma Today Podcast at Thunder Media Day. Photo by Saxon Smith
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Photo by Jackson Adair
In a July statement, Bennett described the new arena plans as “unique and transformative,” with hopes that the to-be-named, city-owned Thunder home “elevates the spirit of competition, celebrates the values of our community, and strengthens Oklahoma City’s local and global identity.”
With all the good news and positive results, it would be tempting for the Thunder to start coasting. We wouldn’t bet on that happening, though.
“I don’t think that’s something that we as a team have to worry or think about,” Wiggins says. “I think we have that mentality that you have to earn everything that you want.”
It may be our Year of Thunder, but the process never stops.
“The Thunder experience is unique to each of us as we enjoy the games and great players,” says Bennett. “What I am most grateful for is how the team brings people together. And much of the time, it is outside of the arena, in our daily lives as we follow the games, see the activities in the communities, and perhaps most important, in our interactions with family and friends as we enjoy the vitality and competition that is professional sports. I have heard from Thunder fans across the state who have never been to a game but are as connected as any season ticket holder in their passion and commitment.”
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
