Sports Poets Society

SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN From left, Oklahoma City Thunder players Jaylin Williams and Kenrich Williams celebrate with general manager Sam Presti and team chairman Clay Bennett in the locker room after winning Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers at Paycom Center on June 22. 24 giu 2025 Joe Mussatto - The Oklahoman Sam Presti rolled a champagne cork between his fingers long after the bottles had been popped. It was a modest token compared to the shiny Larry O’Brien trophy, to the championship ring he’ll soon be fitted for, but a meaningful one just the same. And Presti had exactly the place to put it. A small glass case in Presti’s closet contains three other corks, one for each of the three Spurs championships he was a part of in 2003, 2005 and 2007. Titles that helped Presti, at age 29, land a job as general manager of the Seattle SuperSonics. Eighteen years later, Year 17 in Oklahoma City, Presti has another cork to add to his collection. A title of his own. The firs...

Reaction and analysis of Game 6 and a look ahead to Game 7 on 21 giu 2025 The Oklahoman Joe Mussatto Columnist The Oklahoman USA TODAY NETWORK INDIANAPOLIS – Mark Daigneault waited as long as he reasonably could have before calling his first timeout Thursday night. It was as if he didn’t want to intervene in the action, instead waiting for his team to show some spunk. To hush the Indiana crowd and halt the Pacers’ run on its own. That wait would be an indefinite one. Game 6 was all Indiana: 108-91 Pacers. “The way I see it is, we sucked tonight,” said Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, his analysis unimpeachable. The Pacers played with desperation. The Thunder played like it had a fallback option — a Game 7 wild card tucked away in the recesses of the visitor’s locker room. Which is true of course, but boy oh boy, that’s a dangerous game to play. Anything and everything is on the table in a Game 7. Not closing things out in Game 6 leaves the Thunder susceptible to the whims of the ball bouncing ...

DYLAN BUELL/GETTY IMAGES - Bennedict Mathurin of the Indiana Pacers shoots the ball against Oklahoma City’s Isaiah Hartenstein (55) and Jalen Williams (8) during Game 3 of the NBA Finals on June 11 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. 13 Jun 2025 The Oklahoman Joe Mussatto and Jenni Carlson The Oklahoman USA TODAY NETWORK INDIANAPOLIS — Now things get interesting for the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals. After getting outscored by 14 points in the fourth quarter of a 116-107 loss to the Indiana Pacers in Game 3 Wednesday night, OKC now trails the best-ofseven series 2-1. Game 4 is set for Friday night, but let’s get to the Game 3 grades first. Taking care of the basketball: D The Pacers beat the Thunder at OKC’s own game. OKC was sloppy with the basketball. Indiana scored 21 points off of OKC’s turnovers. It was an uncharacteristic night for the Thunder both in the number of turnovers it committed and the lack of turnovers (13) it forced. — Joe Mussatto, Columnist Containing Bennedict Math...

13 Jun 2025 Joe Mussatto Columnist The Oklahoman USA TODAY NETWORK INDIANAPOLIS — A sea of gold-clad Pacers fans, their chests puffed, spilled onto the concourse after Indiana’s 116107 Game 3 win Wednesday night in Indianapolis. Amid the cacophony of chatter and cheers, I heard something that struck me. “I still think they think they’re supposed to win,” one Pacers fan said. They, being the Thunder. I don’t know if the Thunder ever thought it was supposed to win these NBA Finals — that kind of entitlement is contrary to OKC’s organizational dogma — but not until Wednesday night, filing out of Gainbridge Fieldhouse, did I entertain the idea that the Pacers could actually win this series. That the Thunder could actually lose it. Maybe the Pacers are a team of destiny. Maybe the Thunder is beatable. I picked the Thunder in five before the series, and even after Indiana got a split in Oklahoma City, I stuck with my prediction. Thunder in five is no longer mathematically possible. Pacers in...