Just three years after they ended with one of the worst records of the Western Conference, Oklahoma City Thunder is now better in the West.
The Thunder defeated Minnesota Timberolves on Wednesday, 124-94, to win the conference finals in five games and advance to the first finals in the American Professional League since 2012.
Oklahoma will face City Indiana or New York; Besters keeps a 3-1 series. Regardless of its final discount, Oklahoma City will host 1 and 2 games with the best qualifying seed, on June 5 and June 8. Games will also host 5 and 7, if necessary, on June 16 and June 22.
Oklahoma City leads up to 39 points to convert a decisive game otherwise on Wednesday to an explosion, led by 34 points from Gilgus Alexander, who won the title of last week, the American Professional League player.
Even according to the American Professional League standards, where the fortunes of privileges and windows can change to win the championships quickly, the rebuilding of Oklahoma City, which brought it back in the finals quickly. In 2021, she won 22 games during a designer season, the fourth record in the American Professional League in the American Professional League and the least victories of excellence since his transfer from Seattle to Oklahoma in 2008. Next year, 24 games have won less games than Phoenix on its way to the first West seed.
Every year since then, Oklahoma City gradually took another step forward, with 40 wins in 2023, followed by 57 last season, the most at the conference, only for a loss in the second round of the qualifiers. This season, Oklahoma City’s escalating path continued with 68 wins, drawing fourth in the history of the American Professional League. Among the other six teams that won at least several times in one season, four continued to win the American Professional League. OKLahoma City will have the opportunity to join this chosen club.
Oklahoma City has not won the American Professional League championship since its transfer in 2008. In 2012, the thunder made the finals behind a list with three players in the future but lost to Miami Heat.
The current thunder is characterized by MVP in Gilgeous -alexander and a unique menu for its depth and diversity, which was intentionally built during its lean years. In addition to Gilgeous-Elexander, Oklahoma City got drafts of Los Angeles Cleibers in 2019 against the star Paul George, a trade that was a focal point for Oklahoma City concession.
One day after the trade, The Thunder made a much more decision than the list by signing the unnamed Arizona wing Lu Dort, who has since become a warm warm candidate at a time when it became the best defense in the American Professional League during both the normal season and the post -season stage.
Three years after Oklahoma City acquired Gilgus Alexander and Jabal of draft choices, one of those choices was from Klibers Galen Williams, who this year was honored in all the stars while he became the top scorer of the pioneering thunder. The loss in 2022 helped secure the second total draft that was chosen in Oklahoma City to formulate Chet Holmgren, its third pioneering top scorer, who scored 22 points on Wednesday.
Oklahoma City opened in 2025 Bustson, with a sweeping of the Grissles, before Denver excelled in seven games in the semi -finals of the conference. In the face of Minnesota, with a platform for the finals on the line, Oklahoma City occupied 3-1 in a series of series before Timberwolves was directed on Wednesday.
