The Oklahoma City Thunder bested the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Sunday, lifting the Larry O’Brien trophy for the first time since their move to OKC.
Given the strength of their core, and the fact that the Thunder entered the series as the second-youngest team to ever reach the Finals, it’s possible that there are more titles coming their way in the next few years.
Simply put, Oklahoma City has this basketball thing down, but apparently they still might need to get coached up a bit when it comes to partying like a champion.
Per Marcus Thompson of The Athletic, the Thunder’s locker room celebration was the “most tempered” he had ever seen.
The Thunder didn’t splash much champagne celebrating their ring 😅
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) June 23, 2025
"That was the most tempered locker room I've seen after any championship." — @ThompsonScribehttps://t.co/MpYlUnXqJa pic.twitter.com/6VSc6Hq1Xo
It was clear from the start that the Thunder players were inexperienced in the ways of spraying champagne—Isaiah Hartenstein told reporters after the game that team veteran Alex Caruso had to guide many of his younger teammates on how to open their bottles.
But even after those bottles were popped, the party apparently remained rather restrained, at least compared to other championship squads.
Fans online were quick to point out the somewhat bummer vibes emanating from the locker room.
MLB Wildcard win is more hype than this https://t.co/ygS0xayldq
— Roy Gilligan Bivington (@RoyGilliganBiv) June 23, 2025
Where is
— Dame (@DARE_Betss) June 23, 2025
The passion
The aura
The crying
The Oklahoma we did this for you energy
Smh https://t.co/3sZ30wXlqM
No aura https://t.co/6DGgj5G1VC
— Chris P (@ovo_chrisp) June 23, 2025
This feels like something of a no-win situation. We’ve seen players get called out as corny and accusations of performative emoting when they’ve had large reactions to winning a title. Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton raised his concern of being accused of “aura-farming” earlier this postseason. Maybe this was an overcorrection to the other side of that coin.
Or maybe these guys just had a better party waiting for them elsewhere, and preferred to save the big release for then when there were less cameras around.
Either way, maybe next time they can dim the lights, blast the music, and at least make sure they cover every reporter in the room with booze. That’ll teach ‘em.
More NBA Finals on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Fans Shocked by Underwhelming Thunder Championship Locker Room Celebration.
