The Week That Was | Oklahoma City Wins The NBA Championship | NBA Draft & Trades | 30th Anniversary of Mike Tyson Returning To The Boxing Ring in 1995

The Oklahoma City Thunder won the NBA Championship in 7 games by winning by score of 103-91 led by Shai Gilgeous Alexander scoring 29 points while dishing out 12 assists. Uncharacteristically, Gilgeous-Alexander shot 2-12 from the 3-point line unusual because it's he is specialized in the mid range game and getting to the basket. But it doesn't matter if your team wins it all.

Meanwhile Indiana Pacers lost Tyrese Haliburton to an Achilles injury before the unfortunate injury, Haliburton got off to a blazing start hitting 3 3-point shots but despite his absence, the Pacers had a 48-47 lead at Halftime displaying the trademark resiliency regardless of Haliburton being out for the remainder of Game 7. In the second half, the Thunder was able to turn the tables on the Pacers by outscoring them 34-20 and taking a 13-point lead. The largest lead of Game 7 came in the 4th quarter when the Thunder built a 90-68 lead that would never relinquish holding on to win 103-91.

Other notable standouts from Game 7 was Jalen Williams with 20 points and 18 points,5 blocks and 8 rebounds from Chet Holmgren. Overall the Oklahoma City Thunder have a bright future ahead of them due to their youthfulness because the Thunder can win multiple championships if they stay healthy and wholesome. The question is Can the Thunder repeat as champions for the first since the Golden State Warriors did it and accomplished the feat in 2018. The Indiana Pacers will be back in contention for the Eastern Conference Championship but it falls solely on the health of Tyrese Haliburton.

In the NBA Trade landscape, the biggest standout trade was Kevin Durant getting traded to the Houston Rockets for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and the 10th pick from the 2025 NBA Draft including 5 second round picks. The trade is great for the Houston Rockets because they need a bonafede scorer in the 4th quarter and obviously Durant is tailored made for that job description. Jalen Green has potential being in the same backcourt with Devin Booker something dynamic in that aspect also Dillon Brooks represents toughness and grit to the Phoenix Suns.

The NBA Draft was this week where there was no surprise that Cooper Flagg went #1 to the Dallas Mavericks while Dylan Harper of Rutgers went to the San Antonio Spurs at #2. This is rarity for a player from Rutgers get drafted that high in a draft. Meanwhile Ace Bailey out of Rutgers was drafted at #5 by the Utah Jazz plus Walter Clayton Jr of Florida originally drafted by the Washington Wizards at #18 but was traded to the Utah Jazz so the Jazz may have a bright future cornerstone franchise in the making, hypothetically.

In 1995 Iron Mike Tyson made his anticipated return to the boxing ring after spending 3 years in prison for rape. Unfortunately Tyson wasn't able win the Heavyweight championship like he once did before prison despite fighting Evander Holyfield 2 times, he lost both matchups. But the buzz was enormous because of his impact that he had boxing and the sport itself led to the anticipation of his first fight against Peter McNeeley on August 19th 1995 where he won that boxing matchup and the fight grossed 96 million including 63 million in pay per view purchases for the fight. Tyson had a great buzz due to his return to boxing bringing boxing fans to watch him fight again.