Inside The Thunder

OKC Thunder Continue to Expand Global Footprint After 2025 Title

Oklahoma City continues to make an impression with basketball fans worldwide following the team's first championship.
Randall Sweet|
Jun 24, 2025; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder Girls waves to fans along the Oklahoma City Thunder Champions parade route.
Jun 24, 2025; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder Girls waves to fans along the Oklahoma City Thunder Champions parade route. | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

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Oklahoma City Thunder

For years, the Oklahoma City Thunder have attracted fans from outside the Sooner State.

Even in a small media market, the stars that OKC has carried on its roster have helped one of the NBA's newer franchises become a well-recognized brand by basketball fans around the country. With exciting players like Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook leading the charge years ago, the team endeared itself to many neutral observers.

That was years ago, though, and with Westbrook and Durant no longer on the roster, the Thunder's identity has changed drastically over the past decade. The new edition of Sam Presti's team features a completely new group of stars, led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams.

The duo, flanked by an impressive group of role players, helped OKC claim its first NBA title in 2025, catapulting the Thunder into a new level of international stardom. While Durant and Westbrook may have put Oklahoma City on the map amongst basketball fans worldwide, a title and another MVP winner will certainly garner even more attention.

Just look at the cover of NBA 2K26, which features Gilgeous-Alexander.

Over the summer, the NBA, the Thunder and more have capitalised on the team's success, making an effort to continue growing Oklahoma City's brand internationally.

In August, Williams went to China with adidas, participating in fan engagement events, light shows, Q&As and more. When Williams arrived overseas, he was greeted by a massive group of fans.

The Thunder's co-star even graced an adidas billboard in Shanghai, a city with more than 24 million residents. Williams wasn't the only member of Oklahoma City's organization to visit China over the summer, though.

Recently, NBA China requested a visit from members of OKC's spirit squad, known as the "Thunder Girls". During their trip, the group will visit Shanghai, Jinan and Beijing and perform at the MIGU University Basketball Tournament.

The group left a few days ago, and is set to return to the Modern Frontier on Sept. 14, just a few weeks before training camp starts for the Thunder. While there won't be any players travelling overseas this time around, the request itself is an indication of OKC's growing global status, largely aided by a recent title.

The Thunder Girls' trip to China is another opportunity for Oklahoma City to establish a bigger global fanbase.

For years, the NBA has worked with countries around the world to grow the game of basketball, even creating academies in Africa, Australlia and other nations.

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Randall Sweet
RANDALL SWEET

Randall Sweet is a 2022 Oklahoma University graduate who has formerly written for the Norman Transcript and OU Daily. Randall also serves as the Communications Coordinator at Visit OKC.

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