{"id":151587,"date":"2025-07-22T09:25:21","date_gmt":"2025-07-22T13:25:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=151587"},"modified":"2025-07-22T09:25:21","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T13:25:21","slug":"thunder-player-names-biggest-hurdle-on-their-championship-run","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/07\/22\/thunder-player-names-biggest-hurdle-on-their-championship-run\/","title":{"rendered":"Thunder Player Names Biggest Hurdle on their Championship Run"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Oklahoma City Thunder had the best record in the 2024-25 season and ended their successful season with a championship run. Before making the NBA Finals, they lost only four games in the first three rounds. In the NBAFinals, they beat the Indiana Pacers in a hard-fought seven-game series. Their starting center, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/harteis01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Isaiah Hartenstein<\/a>, spoke about how <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jokicni01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nikola Jokic<\/a> and the Denver Nuggets were their biggest hurdle.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_144569\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-144569\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-144569\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/06\/USATSI_26428365_168404824_lowres-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Isaiah Hartenstein is one of our best bets for Game 4.\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/06\/USATSI_26428365_168404824_lowres-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/06\/USATSI_26428365_168404824_lowres-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/06\/USATSI_26428365_168404824_lowres-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/06\/USATSI_26428365_168404824_lowres-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/06\/USATSI_26428365_168404824_lowres-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/06\/USATSI_26428365_168404824_lowres-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/06\/USATSI_26428365_168404824_lowres-1200x800.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-144569\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jun 11, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) dunks against the Indiana Pacers during the first half during game three of the 2025 NBA Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Thunder Starter Names the Toughest Hurdle on their Championship Run<\/h2>\n<p>Hartenstein was a guest on the Podcast P with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/georgpa01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Paul George<\/a>, during which he talked about different topics, including their championship run. Speaking on that, he said that they had only one real hurdle, the Nuggets and Jokic. He said,<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think we, in general, we were always confident throughout the series. I think the only series where we were kind of a little bit on the ropes was Denver. I think Denver was the only series where I mean, that Joker. I mean, the way they play, they\u2019ve been there before. And that was probably the only series where we were like, even if we do everything right, they probably still have a chance. Every other series, we were like, if we do the right things, we\u2019re good.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Why Nikola Jokic Was OKC\u2019s TOUGHEST Challenge | \u201cWe Were on the Ropes\u201d\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/a-SgWJmPKa0?start=108&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>To their credit, the Nuggets did take the Thunder to seven games in the second round of the playoffs. They stole Game 1 in Oklahoma City on an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/gordoaa01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Aaron Gordon<\/a> game winner. The biggest problem for Denver in that series was their lack of depth and supporting cast. By the end of the series, Denver didn\u2019t have much to offer. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/p\/portemi01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Michael Porter Jr<\/a>. was severely injured, Gordon couldn\u2019t walk in Game 7, and it was not a contest anymore.<\/p>\n<h3>Jokic Gave His All<\/h3>\n<p>Through seven games against the Thunder, Jokic <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statmuse.com\/nba\/ask\/jokic-vs-thunder-in-the-2025-playoffs\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">averaged<\/a> 28.4 points, 13.9 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.7 steals, and almost a block in 40.4 minutes of action. The Nuggets couldn\u2019t afford to sit him. Every time he went to the bench, the Thunder would make a run.<\/p>\n<p>In Game 1, Jokic dominated with 42 points, 22 rebounds, and six assists. Yet, they needed a Gordon game winner. Then, in Game 2, the Thunder routed Denver, and The Joker played only 32 minutes.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Aaron Gordon INSANE GAME WINNER vs OKC after Chet missed both FT&#039;s \ud83d\ude31\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4E5N1HN0ABc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>In Games 3 and 4, the Nuggets had a balanced attack, with Jokic scoring 20 and 27 points. With the series tied 2-2, Nikola had another monster performance in Game 5. He finished with 44 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, and two steals. But it wasn\u2019t enough as the Thunder won the game.<\/p>\n<h3>Nuggets and Thunder Round 2 in the 2026 Playoffs<\/h3>\n<p>If the Thunder want to make another championship run and win back-to-back titles, the Nuggets might be their toughest challenge again. According to betting websites, the Thunder have the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com\/stories\/nba\/2025-2026-nba-finals-odds\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">best odds<\/a>, but the Nuggets are tied for the second-best odds to win the championship in 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Denver had a great offseason, gaining four quality rotation players in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/johnsca02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cam Johnson<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/brownbr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bruce Brown<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hardati02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tim Hardaway Jr<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/v\/valanjo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jonas Valanciunas<\/a>. The next time these two meet, both teams will have a solid rotation and depth. And it might come down to a great MVP duel between <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/gilgesh01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a> and the Joker.<\/p>\n<p>Photo credit: \u00a9 Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Oklahoma City Thunder had the best record in the 2024-25 season and ended their successful season with a championship run. Before making the NBA Finals, they lost only four games in the first three rounds. In the NBAFinals, they beat the Indiana Pacers in a hard-fought seven-game series. Their starting center, Isaiah Hartenstein, spoke [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5291,"featured_media":151610,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,62,3,22],"tags":[993,72],"class_list":["post-151587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-nba","category-news","category-thunder","tag-isaiah-hartenstein","tag-nikola-jokic"],"modified_by":"Kenny Kluska","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5291"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=151587"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151587\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":151611,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151587\/revisions\/151611"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/151610"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=151587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=151587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=151587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}