Way to go, Oklahoma City Thunder.
For the first time in 13 years, the Thunder will end their season at the National Basketball Association Finals.
The Thunder dominated the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-94 in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals last Wednesday night at Paycom Center.
The Thunder will meet the Indiana Pacers in the 2025 NBA Finals, which will begin Thursday night at Paycom Center.
When the Thunder made the 2012 NBA Finals, they had the dynamic duo of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, and they were defeated in five games by the Miami Heat — who had their threeheaded monster of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. The Thunder’s only win in the series came in Game 1 in OKC as they won 105-94 before the Heat won the next four games to win the title.
Some might think that there would be a franchise to win its first NBA World Champions, but there is a small catch to that.
It definitely would be the Pacers’ first NBA title as the team has only been to one previous NBA Finals, that coming at the end of the 1999-2000 season when the Larry Birdcoached and Reggie Miller-led Pacers lost to the Los Angeles Lakers, led by Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, in six games.
However, when one talks about the Thunder, you have to remember that the franchise was known as the Seattle SuperSonics before moving to OKC prior to the 2008-09 season. While the franchise was in Seattle, the Sonics won the NBA Finals at the end of the 1978-79 season as the team, coached by Lenny Wilkens and led by Jack Sikma, “Downtown” Freddie Brown and the late Dennis Johnson, defeated the Washington Bullets in five games after the Bullets, led by Elvin Hayes, beat them in the 1978 NBA Finals in seven games. The Sonics also reached the 1996 NBA Finals, only to fall to Michael Jordan’s and Scottie Pippen’s Chicago Bulls in six games.
NBA-Turner Sports Era Ends
Speaking of the National Basketball Association playoffs, when the Indiana Pacers beat the New York Knicks in Game 6 on Saturday night at Bainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, it marked the end of an NBA television package.
After 35 years of covering the NBA, Turner Sports, namely through TNT Network, broadcasted its last NBA event as the 2025-26 NBA TV package does not include Turner Sports, which still currently is covering the French Open and likely will continue to cover “March Madness” when the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament rolls around.
I can remember when the first of Turner Sports’ NBA TV package started. It was the 1989-90 season, which began after I graduated college in May from Phillips University in Enid — which now is known as Northern Oklahoma College-Enid. There always was its Thursday night doubleheader, which usually were the only two games of the night in the NBA.
The good news is that NBC and Peacock, which got the other half of the 2025-26 NBA TV package with ABC/ ESPN, will hire about half of the Turner Sports broadcasters, while the other half likely will join the ABC/ESPN family.
“The NBA on TNT” studio crew of Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley will continue to do their show, but it will be done on ESPN.
I’m sorry to see this era come to a close, but kudos to Turner Sports for a job well done.
Congratulations, Patty Gasso
Right after the Oklahoma Sooners softball team got its walk-off victory over the Tennessee Volunteers on Thursday afternoon at the Women’s College World Series at Devon Field at Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, OU coach Patty Gasso had to get to Nashville, Tenn., and the Grand Ole Opry House.
On Friday night, Gasso was awarded the Sports Impact Award during the 2025 K-Love Awards Show for her love for the Lord and how she incorporates that with her players. In fact, the Sooners will ask the opposing team to join them in a word of prayer after the game has concluded.
Congratulat ions, Coach — and thanks for being such a faith-based and God-loving individual.
Stanley Cup Finals Set We have a rematch, folks.
When the Edmonton Oilers disposed of the Dallas Stars 6-3 in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals, it set up a rematch in the 2025 Stanley Cup Finals, which will begin tonight at Rogers Center in Edmonton, between the Oilers and the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.
The defending champion Florida Panthers reached the Stanley Cup Finals for the third straight season after eliminating the Carolina Panthers in five games Wednesday night in Raleigh, N.C.
Last year, the Panthers, who lost the 2023 Stanley Cup Finals 4 games to 1 to the (Las) Vegas Golden Knights, won the Stanley Cup, but the series with the Oilers was a very interesting one. The Panthers won the first three games of the series before Oilers stormed back to win Games 4 through 6 to force the winner-takeall Game 7 at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. — where the Panthers prevailed by a score of 2-1.
Way to go, Maja Stark
Former Oklahoma State golfer Maja Stark won the United States Women’s Open this past weekend at Erin Hills Golf Course in Erin, Wis., becoming the program’s second major championship winner.
The 25-year-old Stark entered the day in first place with a one stroke advantage over the field and proceeded to dominate Erin Hills, winning by three strokes over second-place Nelly Korda and Rio Takeda. Stark carded a final round of 72 (E), capping off the week at 7 under par.
Stark becomes the second former Cowgirl golfer to win a major championship, with the first coming by way of fellow Swedish golfer Pernilla Lindberg, who won the Chevron Championship in 2018.
Stark will return for the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the third major of the season, on June 19-22 at PGA Frisco in Frisco, Texas.
Final Jewel of Triple Crown Slated Saturday The final jewel of the 2025 Triple Crown in horse racing will take place Saturday with the running of the 157th Belmont Stakes.
There will not be a Triple Crown winner this year, since Sovereignty, who won the Kentucky Derby, did not run in the Preakness, which was won by Journalism. However, both horses will face off on Saturday.
Will one of them win it, or will there be a third different horse to claim the victory on Saturday? We’ll have to wait and see.
One thing is for certain, however. The last Triple Crown winner is Justify, who did the feat in 2018 — thus, making us wait until 2026 at the earliest before seeing another Triple Crown winner.
••• Seeley is the sports editor of The Vian Tenkiller News. He can be reached by calling (918) 7754433, Ext. 139 or by emailing him at davids@ cookson.news.
The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-94 in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals last Wednesday night at Paycom Center to advance to the National Basketball Association Finals for the first time in 13 years. Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers will be Thursday night at Paycom Center.
