Chet Holmgren makes NBA Finals history as OKC Thunder win championship

In the biggest game of his young NBA career, Chet Holmgren spearheaded a defensive masterclass from the Oklahoma City Thunder to capture the franchise's first NBA title with a 103-91 win over the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

The former Gonzaga standout was everywhere for the Thunder defensively. Holmgren finished with five blocks — an NBA Finals Game 7 record — to go along with 18 points and eight rebounds on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor.

"He affects the game at a high level every night. Tonight was no different," Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said of Holmgren's impact after the game. "He was everywhere — blocking shots, rotating, switching on guards. He's amazing and so much more room to grow."

The reigning regular season and Finals MVP delivered under the brightest lights, finishing with 29 points and 12 assists as the Thunder recorded 20 assists to just eight turnovers. Indiana, conversely, coughed up 23 turnovers that led to 32 points for OKC. The Thunder led by as many as 22 points before fending off one final effort from the Pacers sans Tyrese Haliburton, who went down early in the first half with a lower leg injury and didn't return.

Holmgren, who missed a significant portion of the season due to a pelvic injury he suffered in November, reflected upon his own journey to becoming a champion with ESPN after the game.

"I've been through so much personally this year, not only in a hit, but other things playing too," Holmgren said. "I'm proud of these guys for holding it down while I was out. I'm proud of myself for never quitting, broken bones, bruises — it's all temporary, but this is forever."

Chet in Game 7:

5 BLK (!!)
18 PTS
8 REB
6-8 FG

the most blocks ever in a Game 7 of the Finals. pic.twitter.com/FzgjtXe8Nq
— StatMuse (@statmuse) June 23, 2025

Holmgren became the fourth Gonzaga player to win an NBA championship, joining Adam Morrison (2009 and 2010), Ronny Turiaf (2012) and Austin Daye (2014). He joined John Stockton as the only former Zags to record a double-double in a finals game, which Holmgren accomplished in Game 3 (20 points, 10 rebounds) and Game 4 (14 points, 15 rebounds). Holmgren was the first Bulldog to play in the Finals since Kelly Olynyk with the Miami Heat in 2020.

Holmgren's former college teammate, Andrew Nembhard, helmed Indiana's offense for a majority of the night once his All-NBA teammate went down early.

Nembhard controlled the Pacers' flow on offense, in addition to battling Gilgeous-Alexander on the other end of the floor from start to finish. Nembhard settled Indiana with a casual pull-up jumper coming off a Myles Turner screen on the game's first offensive possession, putting his team on the board first while scoring over the top of an outstretched contest by Holmgren.

After finding Pascal Siakam in transition for 3 moments later, Nembhard hustled back to meet Gilgeous-Alexander in the paint on the defensive end, forcing the reigning MVP into a difficult 3-pointer following a series of unsuccessful pump fakes and half-spins from the OKC guard.

Nembhard's cool and calm approach out of the gate helped Indiana settle in offensively. Haliburton was just starting to ramp things up when he went down with an Achilles injury with 4:55 left in the first quarter, placing even more responsibility on Nembhard and T.J. McConnell to guide the Pacers' offense.

Slowing down Gilgeous-Alexander grew troublesome for Indiana as the first half went on, though outside of him, OKC was less than successful at creating open looks against Indiana's air-tight defense. As the Thunder became static on offense, the Pacers were able to hang around before eventually taking a 1-point lead with 2 minutes left until the break. A questionable offensive foul on Bennedict Mathurin led to Nembhard's second foul, though the 6-foot-5 guard made up for it with a triple over Holmgren just before the halftime buzzer.

McConnell put on another inspiring performance in the third quarter, scoring 12 consecutive points to keep Indiana within striking distance despite a sharper effort offensively from OKC in the second half. But the Pacers didn't have enough help from their supporting cast to keep up down the stretch, as Gilgeous-Alexander was unstoppable when driving downhill, setting up his teammates Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace to knock down big-time shots late and fend off a late rally from Indiana.

Nembhard finished with 15 points on 4-of-10 from the field, plus six assists and five rebounds, capping off yet another incredible postseason run from the former second-round pick. He came through in the clutch for the Pacers in their second-round series win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, then stuck with Jalen Brunson throughout a grueling six-game series with the New York Knicks. Nembhard never shied away from the All-NBA guard, nor did he back down from Gilgeous-Alexander under the bright lights.

Holmgren, the former No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 draft, has established quite a winning pedigree for himself at just 23 years old. He won the state championship every year of his high school career at Minnehaha Academy (Minnesota) before joining a Gonzaga team that was ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press preseason poll heading into his one and only season in Spokane (Bulldogs lost in the Sweet 16). In Holmgren's first season on the court, the Thunder went 57-25 to earn the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. OKC followed up with a 68-14 showing in the 2024-25 regular season and a 16-7 record in the playoffs.

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