THUNDERJOLT

PHOTOS BY BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMANFans cheer during Loud City Live

 at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City for Game 3 of the NBA Finals on June 11.

Thunder watch parties are galvanizing the city during NBA Finals

20 Jun 2025 - The Oklahoman

Colton Sulley

The Oklahoman USA TODAY NETWORK

Courtney Mankin and her team are accustomed to large crowds flocking to The Jones Assembly, but they didn't anticipate the deluge of OKC Thunder fans driving for their doors ahead of Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

“That Thursday, Game 1, it was like the floodgates had opened,” Mankin — president and partner of local dining group, The Social Order — told The Oklahoman. “Everyone was super excited to be there. And we were like, ‘Oh, OK, this is the Finals. We need to step up our game.'”

As the Thunder entered Game 6 Thursday on the brink of bringing the city its first NBA championship, a trend was taking shape in one of the NBA’s smallest markets. The nation’s 20th most populous city is eating, sleeping and breathing Thunder basketball, while holding its breath with every Alex Caruso steal or Cason Wallace deflection.

And The Jones Assembly and Fassler Hall’s watch parties have given diehards who can’t get — or afford — tickets an opportunity to share a communal experience during a historic moment in the city. Monday night’s Game 5 tickets started at $425 on StubHub. As of Wednesday afternoon, the cheapest tickets available for a potential Game 7 start at $1,166 apiece on Ticketmaster. The Jones’ most expensive cocktail costs $14 for fans watching the game there.

Oklahoma City’s sports viewing scene is experiencing a vibrancy usually reserved for a town with multiple professional sports teams. Thirty minutes before Game 1 tipped at Paycom Center, 7 miles northeast, Game 2 of the Women’s College World Series championship series had begun at Devon Park. On Tuesday, OKC Mayor David Holt signed an agreement keeping the Thunder in the city until at least 2053.

Amid this global sports moment, The Social Order, which operates multiple downtown businesses including Spark in Scissortail Park and Dave’s Hot Chicken and Fuzzy’s Taco Shop in Bricktown, has seen a 20-30% sales increase across all establishments.

ESPN’s Malika Andrews and Brian Windhorst watched an Eastern Conference finals game while in town at The Jones. Former NBA player and Finals commentator Richard Jefferson swung by The Jones the night after Game 1 of the NBA Finals. The Jones, which has partnered with Michelob Ultra on specials, has identified about a 30% sales increase during the Finals, Mankin said, exceeding expectations.

Over a mile north of The Jones, Fassler Hall — a German-inspired beer hall that has partnered with the Thunder to brand itself as Thunder Hall — is seeing three to four times the sales versus typical summer nights. During away games, the Thunder has brought some of its in-house entertainment staff and programming to Fassler.

“Consumer sentiment in Oklahoma City is good right now,” Elliot Nelson, founder and CEO of McNellies Group, which operates Fassler, told The Oklahoman. “People are in good spirits. They’re in a good mood. People seem to be out a little bit more. Whether that’s new customers or old customers, or people coming more frequently, you feel in the market that people are more optimistic.

“It lifts everybody’s spirits and there’s not a lot of things you see that lifts an entire community where everybody seems to be on board and supporting like the Thunder.”

The increased demand at The Jones Assembly and Fassler has driven the need for more inventory and staff. Mankin’s team has called on employees from their other restaurants as they’ve staffed up The Jones. Nelson says Fassler has about three times its normal staff working on Finals game nights.

The Jones features giant indoor and outdoor video walls, food and drink specials, competitions and themed giveaways. Its frozen drink is named after Lu Dort, the Thunder’s tenacious defender.

On game nights during the Finals, you don’t have to scroll too far on social media to find photos or videos of the large gatherings. This is especially true when the Thunder is playing in Indianapolis.

“It’s great for people that maybe didn’t think of us as a place to come and watch the game,” Mankin said. “We’re cementing ourselves as a place to go. I don’t think we’re necessarily branded as a sports bar, but we have been that place during the playoffs, and we’ve loved that. The national attention, whenever you get that, it’s great for our city.”

The exciting possibility for fans — and local businesses featuring official watch parties — is that this could be just the beginning of this Thunder lineup’s success. The youngest team in the NBA is led by 26-year-old MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander; 24-year-old Jalen Williams, who became the fifth-youngest player in NBA Finals history to score 40 points Monday night; and 23-year-old Chet Holmgren, who has played only one full season.

Mankin and Nelson envision droves of sports-crazed patrons pouring into their hotspots long after the Finals end. Fassler hopes to cement itself as the goto destination during next summer’s FIFA World Cup.

“We’re grateful to be able to reconnect with that part of the business that used to be there pre-pandemic,” Nelson said. “And then, hopefully, capitalize on it and become a gathering place for people going forward to watch sports with large groups of people.”

Before the Professional Basketball Club LLC, a group of investors led by Clay Bennett, brought the Thunder to town, Oklahoma City was better known for its struggles than as a bustling sports town.

Much less a possible title town. One game from an NBA championship, the Thunder is rolling — and business is booming in Oklahoma City.

“If OU has a good run, not everybody’s behind them,” Nelson said. “Everybody being behind (the Thunder) and being in a better mood and having this super optimistic, exciting thing to talk about, lifts the spirits (of the city) overall.”