It’s OKC!

Oklahoma City thundered their way to their franchise-first NBA title outpacing Indiana.  The Larry O’Brien trophy is still elusive for the Pacers and it’s back to the planning stage for them.

The sudden death game was tight in the first half, but Indiana had a monumental collapse in the third quarter.  There was a mini run in the middle of the final quarter, but OKC did great defensive stops.

It was the 20th time in NBA history when a Game 7 was played in the Finals and was the first time since the 2016 Finals between Golden State and Cleveland.

In the previous 19 Finals matchups that went the distance, 5 games were played in the 1950s, 4 games in the 1960s, 3 games in the 1970s, 3 games in the 1980s, 1 game each in the 1990s and the 2000s and 3 games in the 2010s.

The LA Lakers had the most Game 7 Finals appearance, winning 4.  The Boston Celtics had 8, winning 7 of them.  The New York Knicks played 4 Game 7s, winning one in 1970.  NYK also played the first championship series that went the distance in 1951, losing to the then Rochester Royals, which is now the Sacramento Kings.

The Detroit Pistons appeared in 3 Game 7s, winning one.  The Philadelphia 76ers, Atlanta Hawks and San Antonio Spurs played 2 Game 7s each with the Spurs winning their 3rd title in 2005.

Including this season’s winner-take-all game which OKC won, home teams had a 16–4 win-loss advantage.

It’s not all about the championship trophy and the bragging rights.  The league gave a bonus pool to all playoff teams in the amount of $34.7 million that comes from gate receipts and some other sources.  The amount was up by $1 million from last year.  Teams earn in progression as they advance through the playoffs, thus players on winning teams earn more than players eliminated earlier in the playoffs.

Indiana, finishing fourth in the Eastern Conference, got $372,000.  An additional $1.99 million was given for reaching the Finals.  With their bridesmaid finish, the Pacers received $3.8 million.

Considering their NBA-best regular season record, OKC received $869,345.  They got another $761,000 for having the best Western Conference record plus $1.99 million for reaching the Finals.  Their championship pot is $8.8 million.

Although we can safely say that NBA players earn what 90% of the world’s total population dream of, these bonuses are a welcome addition especially to players who have lower end contracts.

With a total prize money of about $12.4 million divided equally among 15 players, OKC Thunder stars as well as those riding the bench each receive at least $825,000.