Championship City
“The Sooner State has always been the land of hope for the second, or third, or sometimes last chance people from other places.” – John Dwyer, The Oklahomans
Outsiders call Oklahoma a flyover state. Yesterday, the only things flying over OKC were helicopters capturing roughly 600,000 of us celebrating our first NBA championship.
In Oklahoma, we gather. I discovered this when I moved here for college in 2004. During welcome week at my university, they took us to the Oklahoma City National Memorial, where we gathered by the Survivor Tree to remember. To live in Oklahoma City is to be shaped by a story of resilience and love.
Locals refer to it as the Oklahoma Standard: Oklahomans show up for each other. It’s who we are, and it’s what we do.
And now, a championship. A parade. For this city.
If you’ve been around for more than a few months, you know the road to this moment was not an easy one: The ahead-of-schedule 2012 NBA Finals team. The so-close-we-could-taste-it 2016 Western Conference Finals team. The aftermath of all of this, and then there was the great reset. The choice in 2019 to rebuild.
Six years later, Oklahoma City is still ahead of schedule. This time, we finished the job.
How do you celebrate? The only way championship cities can—with a full-scale parade.
The Joy of Winning
One common theme bubbled up throughout the day: This is a day so many of us had dreamed of. Growing up, I remember watching the ’90s Chicago Bulls. One of the greatest parade moments of all time happened in 1997 when role player Steve Kerr told the crowd that before his game-winning shot, the team talked about it in a huddle. Kerr shared, “Michael (Jordan) said, ‘I don’t feel real comfortable in these situations. Maybe we oughta go in another direction. Why don’t we go to Steve.’” Jordan is laughing. Kerr is laughing. Chicago is laughing.
I remember thinking as a kid, “I’d love to be in a city where we win an NBA championship.” That dream felt too far away to touch.
I didn’t grow up in OKC, but I’m lucky to call it home. It has always seemed like championship moments and the parades that follow are something people in places like L.A., Boston, Chicago and even Dallas get to have. They’re the big cities. OKC is the small market, and the small markets rarely ascend to win it all.
“Being at the parade, I feel like I watched OKC grow up,” Bryan Clifton said. “We deserve a seat at the table. This team earned it for all of us.”
On June 24, people stood in the sun, enduring 90° heat for hours, to celebrate. Oklahoma summer can be smothering heat—but the focal point wasn’t the humidity. It was winning.
As Julie Evans said, “It feels like we took another monumental step forward, and everyone showed up!”
You hear it all the time—the world has become increasingly polarized. People take sides and shout opinions at each other. Keyboard warriors sound off on their particular self-determined, salient point. As global conflicts increase and many people feel their anxieties increase as well, the parade gave us a moment to simply be together. One estimate guessed over 600,000 people showed up for the parade. Thousands gathered in Scissortail Park, shouting with one voice.
“OKC! OKC! OKC! OKC!”
As Elijah Weaver said about the parade, “As hundreds of thousands of Oklahomans crowded the city’s streets to celebrate the Thunder’s win, they were participating in more than a parade. Just like the parades in ancient Greece, this day reminds us that our lives, our virtue, our excellence, serves the city; and the city, when it wins, reflects the good, beautiful and true we are yearning to experience.”
What if the most responsible thing we could do in that moment was to celebrate? What if the power is found in remembering there is a unity more powerful than our multitudes of disagreements that drive wedges between us?
As I celebrated with friends, we realized this feeling of happiness hadn’t left in days. Usually, something or someone comes along and rains on your parade. This time, regardless of outside circumstances, our city had something to share in and celebrate.
That’s the joy of winning.
Dreaming of being a champion is one thing. Waking up as one is another. When the buzzer sounded in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, Thunder fans everywhere felt it. There’s no feeling in the world like winning. Once you’ve had a taste of winning, that’s all your palate wants to experience.
This isn’t just about basketball; it is bigger than basketball. This is about shared joy, and what we have in common in Oklahoma City.
Together
Long before basketball brought us together, shared grief did. Every April, thousands of people gather to run in the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon to honor the lives lost in the Oklahoma City bombing. This devastating day could have overwhelmed and destroyed our civic spirit, but it brought Oklahomans together. People here showed up for each other.
When we come together to run, we are running to remember those lost. That said, the run isn’t a somber occasion. It’s joyful in a gritty and purposeful way; a reminder that this community continues to forge a new future together with every step we take. Together, we are running for a hopeful tomorrow even as the day stands as an echo of grief.
When Clay Bennett and the ownership group acquired the Seattle Supersonics and brought the team to Oklahoma City, they were breathing new life into this city. The Thunder gave this city a singular cause to rally around, and a shared hope of what could be.
Even now, when new players arrive for the first time in Oklahoma City, General Manager Sam Presti makes sure they visit the Oklahoma City National Memorial. The first time I walked through the Memorial, I remember feeling how sacred the space is. Players often share how going to the Memorial shapes how they see Oklahoma City.
It’s similar to what people do every year when they lace up their Brooks and meet on Harvey early one Sunday morning in April. We are running as one for the city.
We remember.
We don’t just run 25,000 races—we run as one. For the city. For each other. Together.
Every time players put their game jerseys on, it isn’t just about 18,203 people chanting “MVP,” shouting “Luuuuuuuuuuuuuu” or experiencing this wildly rabid fan base barking. They’re playing for something bigger. The championship t-shirts say it well on the back:
WON FOR THE CITY.
“That parade felt bigger than basketball,” Kelsie Downs said. “It was a moment where the team and the city fully became one … people from every background, shoulder to shoulder, celebrating something that made us all feel proud to be from OKC.”
WON FOR THE CITY.
ONE FOR THE CITY.
The race finishes at Scissortail Park, just as the parade did. When players stood on the Scissortail stage, the theme of brotherhood and family echoed as loudly as it did throughout the Nick Gallo interviews this season.
Aaron Wiggins said it well yesterday. Fans showed up even while were pundits referring to the Thunder as the Black Hole of the NBA back in 2021.
Oklahomans are gritty and resilient. Through it all, we stand together. It’s sweeter to stand together and win.
Moments Matter
“The people of Oklahoma City will never forget this day. June 24, 2025, has been the single greatest day in our city’s history.” – Mayor David Holt
Before the parade began, there was a celebration inside the arena. Shirts lined the seats as if we were preparing for our 17th win of the playoffs. This time, though, it wasn’t a court but a stage players would walk on to.
As if it were the moment before a game, once again 6’10” Rob Clay walked out to sing the national anthem. Yes indeed, standing at six feet ten inches, Clay looks like he could have gone toe-to-toe with Shaquille O’Neal in the early 2000s. Referred to as the Oklahoma City Thunder good luck charm due to the team winning almost every time he sings the anthem, Clay reflected on the moment. He said, “Singing the anthem at the Thunder’s championship ceremony was one of the most proud, surreal moments I’ve experienced to date.”
It’s a reminder of the moment we are in right now. As NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said from the stage at Scissortail Park: “Don’t ever forget this. Moments in life like this, they don’t come and go often. Make sure you enjoy this moment with your family, your friends, your loved ones.”
It’s the power of the moment. We don’t remember every detail along the way, but we will always remember moments.
Shai again and again on the step-back jumper at the free throw line. J-Dub rocking the rim and causing 70-year-old men in the arena to bark with the same tenacity as the 7-year-old boys. Chet blocking shot after shot. Caruso, Wallace and Dort applying so much pressure we watch the other team turn the ball—and their dreams—over to this stifling defense. Jaylin “Jay-Will” Williams walking up to the microphone at Scissortail Park and shouting with a smile as wide as the Pacific Ocean, “HEY MAN, WE CHAMPS!”
“It was more than a parade, it was a moment, and one of the biggest moments in the history of OKC. So much so we’ll be telling our grandkids about it,” Matt Stansberry said, reflecting on the day.
The parade reminded us: Before we rush on to what’s next, pause and make this a moment. Because moments like this don’t just matter—they make us.
A New Era
We began a new era in Oklahoma City yesterday. The parade was purely a celebration. We still carry the stories of tragedy, and the city has the scars to show for it.
“The parade was a glimpse into a new bright future for Oklahoma,” Marcus Jackson said. “Diverse communities all smiling, cheering and high-fiving the players. This team’s hard work, unity and youthful camaraderie is a movement/dynasty this city can build around. From the 80-year-old to the 8-year-old, we are proud to say we live in OKC.”
We’re discovering a new identity in OKC. We are the city of champions.
“Like this team, Oklahoma is special,” Jessica Rimmer said. “The level of pride felt by each person who cheered this team to a championship is a reflection of the deep belief that our best days are ahead.”
A golden trophy on the banner covers the Omni. Players lifted a golden trophy on top of buses. All under the golden light of a new day. We aren’t just a city hoping for what could be. We have learned how to win together. We have entered our golden era.
It’s a new day in Oklahoma City. We’ve discovered this is a place where you can touch your dreams. We are the city where champions rise from the ashes.
