In Oklahoma City, where the heat has soared past 90 degrees Fahrenheit and shade is scarce, the community is joyfully marking a historic achievement. The city is hosting its inaugural championship parade for the NBA’s Thunder on Tuesday, celebrating the team’s first major professional sports title.

The Thunder emerged victorious against the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 on Sunday, capturing the NBA championship for the first time since relocating from Seattle in 2008. Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, along with All-Star Jalen Williams and their fellow players, are parading through the downtown area for an event that will span over 90 minutes.

As the parade proceeds, backup center Branden Carlson thrilled the crowd by taking the Larry O’Brien Trophy up close at several stops. Meanwhile, teammate Jaylin Williams was actively engaging with fans, sharing high-fives with many lining the streets of Oklahoma City.

Similarly, Isaiah Hartenstein left his double-decker bus to mingle in the crowd during the parade, all while local news crews followed him in pursuit.  

Fans make their way to the Oklahoma City Thunder NBA championship parade on Tuesday

Fans were out early in Oklahoma City, where the Thunder toasted their 2024-2025 NBA title

A fan cheers during a celebration of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s championship parade

The city first hosted an NBA team during the 2005-06 season, when the New Orleans Hornets temporarily relocated after Hurricane Katrina. Oklahoma City’s fans fell in love with the team and a young point guard named Chris Paul who would be named rookie of the year.

The Seattle SuperSonics relocated to Oklahoma City in time for the 2008-09 season, and fans feverishly supported the team, despite its early struggles. The Thunder became contenders with young stars Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden.

Even with all that talent, they couldn’t break through. They lost to the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals in 2012, and Harden left for Houston. A possible run in 2013 was derailed when Westbrook was injured during the playoffs. The 2015-16 team led the Golden State Warriors 3-1 in the Western Conference finals before losing the series in seven games.

Durant left to join the Warriors after that season, ending that version of the Thunder. Westbrook was the league MVP in 2017 and averaged a triple-double for three straight seasons, but the Thunder never got out of the first round those years.

But with its new set of superstars, finally, the Sooner State capital finally has its moment.

Television audiences certainly noticed. Oklahoma City’s 103-91 victory over Indiana in Game 7 was the most-watched NBA Finals game in six years.

Sunday night’s game averaged 16.53 million on ABC and ESPN+ according to preliminary ratings data from Nielsen. The audience peaked at 19.28 million during the second half (9:45-10 p.m. EDT).

It is the first time since Toronto wrapped up its title in Game 6 against Golden State in 2019 (18.34 million) that the finals have had an audience over 16 million. The last Game 7, when Cleveland beat Golden State in 2016, averaged 31.02 million.

The seven-game series averaged 10.27 million, down from the 11.31 million average for Boston’s victory over Dallas in five games last year.

The seven games were the most-watched television broadcasts since the first week of May.

ESPN and ABC averaged 6.12 million for the 34 games they carried during the playoffs, a 10-percent increase over last year.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) holds the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy with the team behind him during the Champions Opening Ceremony for the parade at the Paycom Center

The Thunder arrived in Oklahoma City in 2008 as the city saw an influx of natural gas revenue

The euphoria around the Thunder isn’t expected to end anytime soon as Oklahoma City is already favored to repeat as champions next season. The team opened the year at +950 to win it all, but those odds shortened throughout the year, down to -175 going into the conference finals.

At the BetMGM online sportsbook, Oklahoma City is the overwhelming favorite to repeat, with +240 odds to win. The next closest teams are the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks at +700.

After landing former Thunder star Durant in a trade with the Phoenix Suns, the Houston Rockets are +800.

The Thunder’s bright future is, in part, a product of the team’s youth.

Power forward Chet Holmgren is still just 23, while Jalen Williams is a year older, Canadian stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luguentz Dort are only 26, and combo guard Cason Wallace is just 21.

There’s even a 19-year-old in Nikola Topic, who missed the 2024-25 season due to injury but still became the first player to win an NBA title before logging a minute in the league.

That youth was on full display during the post-game celebration when players struggled to open bottles of champagne on Sunday in Oklahoma City.

‘Where’s the champagne at?’ some yelled on their way into the room.

It was ready. Problem was, the Thunder were not.

See, the Thunder are young, the youngest NBA champion in nearly a half-century. And, well, it turns out that most players had absolutely no idea how to pop the corks.

‘None of us knew how to do it,’ center Isaiah Hartenstein said, revealing that some players — yes, moments after winning the NBA title — were going onto YouTube in search of tutorials for how to make the bubbles fly.

Enter Thunder guard Alex Caruso, who has already won an NBA title. The oldest player on the team, at 31, showed everyone how to get it done. And eventually, they got it right.

‘We didn’t do it all at the same time until, like, the third try,’ Caruso said. ‘I tried my best.’

In time, they all figured it out. It was the last lesson of many this season for the Thunder, who finished with 84 wins — tying for the third-most in NBA history.

And the team could have all of its key players back next season; they’re all under contract. So, if the Thunder find a way to go back-to-back, Caruso expects the locker room celebration to go a bit more smoothly in 2026.

‘We’ll get some rest, reset, try to go again next year and see if we can do it again,’ Caruso said. ‘We’ll be better. We’ll be better next year.’