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Yesterday in Oklahoma City was simply amazing. When one considers where this city was in the spring of 1995 just after the Murrah Building Bombing tragedy… to observe what we just witnessed yesterday has to be one of the greateast stories in the history of a U.S. city pulling itself up and completely changing the narrative of its own history.

I seriously wonder if Boom Town author Sam Anderson has either done a special podcast or a special piece entitled ‘Boom Town Revisted’ on what we have just witnessed from both the NBA Finals and yesterday’s championship parade.

It was a dual miracle of sorts. In my life as an avid, passionate sports fan…I can only think of one sports miracle which outdid what sleepy little Oke City just pulled off…that being when the 1980 U.S. ice hockey team stunned the Russians at Lake Placcid. I’m not saying OKC beating Indiana was a miracle…what I’m writing is Oklahoma just winning an NBA title goes from highly improbable to almost miracle status in my view.

Whether the Thunder become a dynasty, a mini-dynasty, or a one and down will never matter. Because what this city has pulled off through MAPS and the Clay Bennett/ Sam Presti dual vision will forever change the narrative of Oklahoma City from the outside looking in.

Oklahoma City may not have an NFL, NHL, or MLB team. But from this point forward Oklahoma City becomes a major league city with what should be the most visible NBA team for the next five years or so…maybe longer depending on injuries and some more good luck.

The manner in which the city represented itself yesterday was perfect. There were no cars turned over burning. There was no disrespect shown towards local law enforcement. I didn’t witness humans either physically or verbally assaulting each other. There were no knuckleheads behaving like a group of idiots.

What I witnessed instead…was about about a half a million people showing their love and admiration for this basketball team….and their city. It was refreshing to see this in a contemporary American city. I observed no political nonsense. No hate. Just love for Shai, his guys, and this miracle turnaround city.

It was beautiful.

Simply beautiful.

Job well done MAPS, Oklahoma City, and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Maybe Mayor Holt should at some point consider a run for higher office in Oklahoma. God knows…one would think the Oklahoma Dimwit Twins Markwayne Mullin and Ryan Walters should be replaced.

What an amazing turnaround.

Mike J

MJ is at peace. I feel truly blessed I was able to live to see this day. I have never seen people happier in Oklahoma City. It just feels right, Shai and his guys winning this NBA championship in the manner in which they did. My cup runneth over. Truly.

The sun is setting out here at the Deer Creek mini-ranch. I feel as if I own the universe. Imagine that kind of misplaced hubris. But that’s how I feel right now.

I’m slowly sipping on a Zero-Zero ice cold Corona. Life is literally at a crawl for me at this moment. Beyond surreal. This was a surreal day for MJ.

I’m going to play of couple of more songs and dwift away.

Life is hard, but good as well.

I’ve never written this on my blog before, but for some reason I feel philosophical this evening. When Bob passed in August of 2016…he left this earth as the then closest living descendant of Jesse James. No shit. The DNA mantle then passed to my Cousin Mark who tragically passed this past July 14th. So incredibley..I am now the closest living DNA descendant of Jesse James.

Perhaps…this somehow justifies and explains my behavior from time to time as the eclectic mind and sometimes brilliant editor of the award winning okcthunderground.com. With MJ though…I never wanted anything in a conventional manner.

But right now it feels as if the earth has slowed to a standstill for MJ. And as long I’m not in a motor vehicle anywhere near Chet Holmgren in the next 24 hours… I feel like I might whip the cancer thing.

Eternal peace and joy, Oklahoma.

Mike J

Wow.

I mean, Paris had me at hello pretty much this morning. I’ve always known she was good and easily the No. 1 talent of that otherwise dubious Thunder broadcast team. But holy shit…she absolutely knocked it out of the park this morning.

MJ just thinking out loud on his award winning underground blog here, but if MJ were making the decisions in regards to upgrading the Thunder media operations to being on a par with a now NBA championship program…she would be my No. 1 Shining Star moving forward. Not even close.

I don’t want to be cruel or mean spirited towards either Little Nick Gallo or Michael Cage, but now that the Thunder are champs the media part needs to upgrade to championship caliber as well.

I mean, in all candor..Paris was at the minimum equal or better than anyone I witnessed on either ESPN or ABC during the Finals. I hope the Thunder do not lose her.

The thing this morning was picture perfect and from that point on I was nothing but immensely impresssed with entire day from downtown Oklahoma City. It will be something I never forget.

Chet appeared to either be drunk or hungover from my vantage point, but you know what, when I was his age I probably would have partied the last two days straight myself and fallen off the stage.. I’m glad he didn’t break the trophy.

It was probably the best day in the history of the state of Oklahoma today.

Just beautiful. It gives me hope about Oklahoma.

Mike J

It’s the day every NBA basketball fan in Oklahoma City has been waiting for since Hurricane Katrina…NBA Championship Parade Day.

And even though the Thunder are only my second favorite team in the league…I am sure I will cry multiple times today processing what has taken place in Oklahoma City. What I think I’ve witnessed is the greatest and most inspirational season by an individual player in my lifetime. And make no mistake about what I’m claiming because in all candor I didn’t want the Thunder to get past ‘my’ Nuggets in the second round.

There is nothing here inspired by the genre of Little Nick Gallo in this post. As in none. If you want to read effeminate, passive submissive nonsense about the Thunder this is not your blog.

And let me also be clear…LeBron, Kobe, Kevin Durant, and Steph NEVER did what Shai just accomplished. That being, take a team which was commanded to intentionally lose by design for three straight seasons to the pinnacle in what was for the most part an organic process.

Kobe had the Buss Mafia Family money. Kevin Durant and Steph had the Lacob Basketball Trust Fund. Hell, in OKC…the basketball ownership group hasn’t even put up the appropriate share for the new arena.

This was not a Dream Team build.

This was Sam Presti making a private pledge that if Shai, Lu, and Kenrich would crawl through the three year shit process of the Shawshank sewage system there would be light at the end of the tunnel.

And, baby…there is light at the end of that tunnel on this Tuesday morning in downtown Oklahoma City.

Yeah, Presti did a get a little lucky with the JDub pick. But with the injury-proness of Chet there was no good fortune there. And, yes, somehow getting the Chicago Bulls to take Josh Giddey for Alex Caruso wasn’t organic..but who really gives a shitt the end of the day. Just win, baby.

Adding Isaiah Hartenstein through free agency was prescient…because if you know basketball every team needs a physical dude setting screens for their Shai, clogging up the lane on defense, rebounding like a doberman, and just basically giving these previously docile Thunder a little bit of snarl and nasty.

So this is Championship Parade Tuesday in Oklahoma City and there will be no talk from MJ about a dynasty or a repeat.

No. This is a day to marvel at what Shai and his group just pulled off in this historic NBA basketball season.

I’m already crying, but in a very good way.

Mike J

Even though the Denver Nuggets are still my favorite NBA team, in a gesture of immense sportsmanship…. I’m going to play the song for the WORLD CHAMPION OKC THUNDER this Monday morning.

I want to write this first about the Indiana Pacers and Tyrese Haliburton though before I touch on my observations about this incredible journey this group of Thunder players just completed. I want to tell the Pacers…thank you. Thank you for giving all of us NBA fans one helluva show these past two weeks.

If Tyrese hadn’t gone down in the first period I’m fairly certain this Game 7 would have ended with a dramatic finish given Tyrese came out smoking hot hitting three threes in a row. But alas, this night was not meant to be for the Pacers. It was meant for the Oklahoma City Thunder as they put the finishing touches on one of the most remarkable turnarounds. in NBA history.

I believe it was 2019 when Dame Lillard’s dagger ended the Russell Westbrook-Paul George era in OKC. Then the Presti deathwalk somewhat began. Paul George to the Clippers. Russell to the Houston Rockets and then you knew it was going to be bad when Jeremy Grant was traded as well. That was when MJ cried.

The funny thing is though..the deathwalk took a one year pause as the Thunder ended up with Chris Paul, the German minimalist Dennis Schroeder, and a young player from the Clippers named Shai. That team was actually so fun to watch the deathwalk master Sam Presti didn’t have the heart to ship off Chris Paul just then and the Thunder made it to the Bubble Playoffs where the Thunder lost to Harden and Westbrook.

No more fun for Thunder Nation the next two years as the Thunder won 22 games and 24 games with the low point being a 71 point road loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. I think it was about this time MJ’s flirtations with the Denver Nugget began since in my mind the Thunder had ceased playing legitimate NBA basketball games.

Also keep in mind…I think it would be very weak of me to now jump back on the Thunder bandwagon. And the truth of the matter is…if Giannis ends up with Steph and the Warriors finally get rid of Draymond…the Thunder could in theory fall down to my third favorite NBA team. BTW…if Giannis ends up with Steph, and the Nuggets address their depth issue..those are the two teams in the West I could see being the most formidable challenge to the Thunder in the West next season.

But the Thunder will be overwhelming favorites to repeat.

So here we are circa June, 2025 and the Thunder are world champs and I own a domain named okcthunderground.com. Since the local coverage of the Thunder is so woeful and feeble…MJ thinks he’ll stick around next season and still cover the defending champs on his blog…as a service of sorts to NBA fans in the market who need more than the sychophantic drudgergy created by the Presti machine.

I’ll watch the parade tomorrow and in a sense treasure it thinking back on all of my good memories associated with the Thunder.

This is one hell of a story. Nothing like it in NBA history with the possible exception of the ’77-’78 Portland Trailblazers.

Thunder Nation…enjoy the parade. You earned it. Smell the roses.

Mike J

Here we go…a Game 7 for all the marbles. This is more like a Championship Monday with the exception of course that this Game 7 will be played in Oklahoma City versus that of a neutral site.

If this game were being played at a neutral site… I’d like the Indiana Pacers to win this game outright by 1.5 points or so.

But this game isn’t going to be played in Las Vegas or in a venue like the NBA Cup is played. This Game 7 is going to played inside of Loud City and for that reason I cannot overlook the history of Game 7s in NBA Finals history.

As stunning as this might sound to some…I think Indiana is the better team from top to bottom. I think Rick Carlisle has easily been the better coach. I think the Thunder have been mercurial in these Finals, while the Pacers have been the more consistent, steadier team which has played to their strengths better than the Thunder have in the first six games.

I actually think the Pacers have a better, deeper bench…and it were not for Alex Caruso the bench matchups would be a colossal mismatch.

And here we are in Game 7 and I’m thinking to myself is Chet Holmgren going to breakthrough or continue to under-amaze in these NBA Playoffs. I don’t think any GM in this league would use the No. 2 pick in a draft class for a player who only shows up every third game. Does merely showing up every third game merit a max contract? Is that in the smaller print in the NBA players’ collective bargaining agreement?

In Game 1…I gave the Pacers a 47-48% of winning as a 10.5 road underdog. I was prescient with that feel even though the Pacers turned the ball over 25 times.

Game 7s are a different animal though. There have been 19 previous NBA Finals with the road team winning only four times. So based on that number do I write on here I’m giving the Indiana Pacers a mere 22% chance of winning tonight?

No MJ does not. What MJ will say is he’s going with the Pacers at a 44% chance of winning tonight, while tabbing the Thunder with a 56% chance of winning tonight.

Even though I’ve been more impressed with the Pacers there are several other things beyond homecourt which would trouble me in picking the Pacers to win tonight inside of PayCom Arena:

1 The Shai free-throw factor…is 12-14 night coming?

2 The Alex Caruso factor in regards to how this game will be officiated.

3 Is Tyrese Haliburton capable of being special for 32 minutes or more?

4 Is this the game Myles Turner returns to his normal level of play or not?

Basically homecourt usually makes role players play better. So is this the game we see Aaron Wiggins and Cason Wallace play high level basketball on the same night would be my No. 5 on the list.

So, in essense what I’m looking for from the Thunder tonight is a game in which Holmgren, Wallace, and Wiggins all step up collectively in this pressure packed Game 7.

I’ve loved watching this series and covering it on my blog. It’s a shame more viewers nationally have not shared in my sentiment. Too bad for them though because what we’ve had the privelege of watching are two teams who don’t have Steph or LeBron on their rosters, but who have worked there way up these past three years to become two of the best teams in the NBA moving forward.

I hope it’s a great game which goes down to the last shot.

Good luck to both of these hard-working teams.

Mike J

No…Jeb Bush wasn’t debating inside of Gainbridge Arena on Thursday night during Game 6 of these NBA Finals. But given the apparent disinterest and listfulness displayed by the Thunder…it had that Jeb Bush feel to it from the Thunder minus the nice 10-2 start which went poof soon-after.

108-91 in no way indicates how bad the Thunder were…or maybe, how gritty these stubborn Pacers are. But know this…I’m pretty certain these Pacers who have been absolute road warriors during these NBA Playoffs are going into Game 7 with the belief they can win the game even if Scott Foster is one of the game officials.

Since I mentioned Scott Foster…this is where I would suggest as you breakdown Sunday’s Game 7 in Oklahoma City you might use what MJ calls the Scott Foster metric in OKC. That being…if Scott Fosster is part of the crew you might want to calibrate 12-16 free throws for SGA.

Give the Pacers a ton of credit in this game. They handled the Tyrese situation just about perfectly. Tyrese looked pretty much healthy and played lighter minutes and yet made a solid contribution with 14 points, nice ball decisions, and that smile of his which I’m sure is infectious to his teammates.

I don’t think in anyway MJ will need to mention Willis Reed or Aaron Gordon on Sunday morning when I do my Game-Day breakdown of Game 7.

Six Pacers scored in double figures with Obi Toppin leading the way with 20 and Andrew Nembhard clutch with 17 points, excellent on ball decisions, and tough, physical defense on Shai.

In all six Pacers scored in double figures with Siakam kicking in a 14,13 double-double, TJ MCConnell excellent again with 17 points, and Aaron Nesmith adding 10 points, physicality, and TPSSN all over the floor.

*Toughness, Physicality, Smarts, Snarl, Nasty. The passive submissives over there at the Daily Thunder could never come to terms with this very simple metric. Tramel understands it though. MJ’s best pupil by far.

Indiana didn’t turn the ball over much. Didn’t fuel easy transitional points to the Thunder. Shot a very respectable 15-42 from beyond the arc. Won the boards 46-41. Won almost every meaningful 50-50 ball…and got their starters off the floor for most of the fourth period.

Rick Carlisle was masterful on how he handled the Tyrese injury situation from a human standpoint. That’s what great coaches do..they always remember their players are human and not some piece of chattel.

2nd Rule of Coaching…The great coaches display their own unique character and personality to their players for special moments. This Game 6 was special moment for the Pacers in the present and in the future down the road.

I’m going to take a break from the Finals tomorrow and go see that new FI movie starring Brad Pitt. That’s definitely a movie I will see in a real theatre.

Then I’ll get back on here Sunday morning for my Game 7 takes for what for me has been a very special NBA Finals as far as the enjoyment I derived from being able to be healthy enough to actually do this. and spend more time with my loved ones.

My Four Stars of Game 6 went in this order…1 Andrew Nembhard, 2 Siakam, 3 TJ McConnell, and 4 Obi Toppin.

Have a wonderful Saturday day off from the NBA Finals. This has really turned out into a great series either way it goes on Sunday evening.

Mike J

This could certainly be a historic night for the Oklahoma City Thunder in Year 17 of the franchise being in Oklahoma instead of Seattle. The Sonics won their lone champuonship in 1979 with the Jack Sikma, Dennis Johnson, and Downtown Freddie Brown group. So for the franchise collectively…this could be the first title in 46 years.

We have no idea what the game time status of Tyrese Haliburton will be come tip. I will suggest this though…In ’71 Willis Reed did comeback, but he didn’t play the point guard position and wasn’t ask to direct his team’s offense against a pack of pit bulls and dobermans like the Thunder’s defense can be at times when they’re locked in with Alex Caruso leading the mob mentality.

I think it would be irresponsible of Rick Carlisle to throw Tyrese Haliburton out there if it’s obvious he can’t go at the very least around the 90% threshold. Plus, if he does play–I would think the minutes would be calibrated much lower than his normal minutes on the court.

We saw this same type of injury derail Aaron Gordon at the end of the semi-final round…and again, Aaron Gordon was not being asked to play the point guard position against this very physical, swarming Thunder defense.

To me…this means Rick Carlisle needs to tell his other five guards who have played in this series they need to be completely ready to absorb those Haliburton minutes and give their team a chance to win this Game 6 at home.

Which means TJ McConnell, Aaron Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Ben Mathurin, and Ben Shepperd all need to elevate their games in a significant sustained manner for 48 minutes if Haliburton cannot go.

Do I think it’s possible in a home game setting for Indy to win without Haliburton.?

I do. But not something I would bet on. But you never know and that’s why we play the game. We have seen glimpes of excellence from TJ McConnell, Nesmith, Nimbhard, and Mathrutin in this series. But we did not see it in Game 5 in Oklahoma City from these latter three guys. Especiallly from Nembhard and Mathurin who appeared shell-shocked from the Thunder crowd.

To me…this would also mean Rick Carlisle should probably roll Obi Toppin out there for more minutes to absorb some of those Haliburton lost minutes. And it will be imperative for both Siakam and Myles Turner to both have strong games and stay out of foul trouble. And some good minutes are probably going to be needed from Bradley as well.

On the other side of the equation…this series should have been over in Game 5 if not for the overthink antics of Mark Daigneault screwing with the starting lineup and rotations which didn’t need Cason Wallace playing 33 minutes a game in the NBA Finals. I’m not going through my entire rant again on that, but it would seem to me the Thunder seem to have it figured out heading into Game 6 tonight in Indy.

What a special night it could be for the state of Oklahoma to hoist an O’Brien Trophy to culminate an NBA championship and an 84 win season of regular season and playoff games combined.

Complete and absolute vindication for Sam Presti and all that transpired after Game 6 versus Golden State in 2016 until basically tonight or in Game 7 in Oklahoma City if the series continues beyond tonight.

We will be witnessing history as the youngerst team since the ’77-’78 Portland Trailblazers could be culminating the original dream of Clay Bennett and Aubrey McClendon. That being, to bring and sustain championship NBA level basketball to Oklahoma City.

I wonder if Sam Anderson from the NY Times has an eye on tonight’s game and if he has something in the works as an epilogue of sorts to Boom Town.

A great deal to absorb as we get ready for what is now the most important game in the history of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

I have to admit…the struggle and the rebuild are great stories in themselves.

Good luck to both groups. You’ve given us a compelling Finals.

Mike J

I would, but my son and his family live in Denver and I yodel John Denver songs in my hot tub. So…me being me and Sam Presti being a very self-controlled almost what I would describe as an anal nerd of sorts…I’m not so sure.

I’m not sure if Sam Presti is up before dawn every day on his terrain bike grinding it out. But if Sam Presti is that type of guy who loves nature and the challenges of mountain biking, hiking, snow skiing or snow boarding, fly fishing, Wash Park, liberal neighborhood book clubs, and living in the same city as the Broncos, the Avalanche, the Rockies, and the most successful DI mens hockey program in the country…I would think the Denver job might be interesting.

Also…did I mention you can be sipping your morning coffee and see the snow capped mountains off beyond your backyard deck?

And did I mention a nucleus four of Nicola, Jamal, Aaron, and Christian? I didn’t mention Michael Porter Jr. because if MJ was the new Nugget GM that would be the first move I made…that being, moving Michael Porter Jr’s contract and filling those payroll dollars with someone like maybe Bruce Brown and a lesser two-way player who could help the Nugget bench next season.

Russell Westbrook will be gone because quite frankly new head coach David Adelman knows he can’t get the Nuggets back to the NBA Finals with Russell’s inconsistent and mercurial play in the NBA Playoffs when the competition gets tougher every round round.

Sam Presti knows this as well. Been there. Done that.

So? Here the Nuggets are about a week out from the NBA draft and they still haven’t named their GM? They didn’t have much problem firing head coach Mike Malone and GM Calvin Booth with three days left in the regular season? They didn’t have a problem letting Assistant GM Tommy Balcetis go on Monday.

So would the Groenke family name Denver’s G League affilate Ben Tenzer to be the new GM if they could instead either get Tim Connelly back from the Minnesota Timberwolves or Sam Presti from the Oklahoma City Thunder?

I mean…if you as a championship organization which seriously wants to show Nicola how dead serious you are in putting a team together so he can win a second and a third NBA Championship… would you put your faith in Ben Tenzer instead of either Sam Presti or Tim Connelly, both winners of the NBA Executive of the Year winners?

I just find it odd we’re within a week of the NBA draft while Sam Presti’s team is one game away from winning the NBA championship and the Nuggets’ GM job hasn’t been filled yet.

But probably this is just errant speculation on my part and either Ben Tenzer or Tim Connelly will be named the new GM in a day or so.

But Sam Presti in Denver is an interesting thought for certain.

Mike J

I love this interview just after the game between JDub and Lisa Salter. Evidently, Jalen didn’t realize the Pacers had drawn within two points (95-93) with less than nine minutes left in the fourth period.

I mean, this young man just reeled off a 40 point game on the biggest stage with the brightest lights shining and basically sounded like a CPA just following the biggest victory to date in the 17-year-old history of the Oklahoma City Thunder franchise to date. Not a coincidence both of JDubs’ parents were career military. The discipline and balanced demeanor is seemingly always with this young man.

Anyway, JDub went for 40 points. Shai played Robin and added 31 points with 10 assists. Caruso was Caruso…which means he’s the most annoying player in the NBA if he’s not on your team.

Chet grabbed 11 boards for his second straight strong game on the boards. I wonder if that in any way correlates with he and Isaiah both starting and being on the floor more together since the Cason Wallace starting experiment ended after Game 3 loss. The Thunder have pretty much ruled the boards these past two games…and, yeah, rebounding and setting screens for SGA are important parts of the Thunder master plan. If not, why would Sam Presti have acquired Isaiah in the first place?

Lu Dort, Cason Wallace, Aaron Wiggins, and Kenrich in my mind were all solid in their various roles coming off the bench. Mark Daigneault rolled with a nine man rotation 1-9 just like an ‘almost famous’ underground blogger suggested he do after the Game 1 giveaway.

I loved what JDub said in the interview above, ” We basically played pretty much like we did in Game 1 tonight except we as a team learned from those mistakes.”

And BTW…I’m not going to compare JDub to Scottie Pippen. You know why? Because if this young man keeps his head screwed on like it is currently…he’s going to be better than Scottie Pippen. Word.

On the other side…Coach Carlisle in hindsight made a mistake reinserting Tyrese Haliburton back into the game. He should have just rolled with TJ McConnell, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Easmith, and Ben Mathurin.

But in defense of the Coach…both Nemhard and Mathurin were BRUTAL in this game and maybe Rick Carlisle thought an injured Haliburton would be better than both of those guys.

Andrew Nembhard and Ben Mathurin…please step into Coach Jackson’s office and shut the door. “Andrew, Ben, for us as a team to have any chance whatsoever of winning Game 6 …you two guys have to show up on Thursday night and bring your games with you. You both know how much better you need to be from what you showed last night.”

Siakam, TJ, Toppin, Turner, and Bradley were functional enough for the Pacers to have been in this game to the very end. But the simple truth of tha matter is Tyrese was if anything a liablity on the floor. OKC were like sharks circling wounded prey out there with Haliburton. It was painful to watch as the Thunder turned over the Pacers 22 time with many of those being live ball turnovers.

Remember the turnover number I posted before Game 1…14. If the Pacers turn the ball over 14 times or more they most likely will lose the game. Now..of course, Mark Daigneault proved me wrong on that number with his mind numbing performance in Game 1 as the Pacers overcame 25 turnovers. MJ doesn’t see Santa Claus gifting anymore games in this series though.

In closing… this 1-9 rotation was OKC’s best game of the series considering the importance of this Game 5 with the series being tied 2-2. Plus…I witnessed no one 1-9 wearing a Thunder jersey shrink or go invisible. Nine guys did their respective jobs.

Good game, guys.

One more win…and you’ve done what no one ever thought was possible in a college market like Oklahoma City…namely, winning an NBA championship.

And I what I find exceptionally satisfying is that even though MJ became a Denver Nuggets fan during all the dark, draconian tanking…Sam Presti then pretty much followed most of my advice with the rebuild… and in this series after the Game 1 giveaway. So…in a bizarre manner of speaking, MJ somewhat feels okcthunderground.com was a part of this Thunder turnaround.

You know what the total irony in all of this would be though..if Sam Presti resigned from the Thunder after the championship and took the Denver Nugget GM job right before the NBA draft. Denver fired their assistant GM yesterday and still hasn’t replaced Calvin Booth. Just a crazy thought of sorts.

Good luck to both teams in Game 6.

Mike J