Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was running through the streets of OKC during Thunder title parade

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander carries the Larry O'Brien trophy as he celebrates with fans as the Oklahoma City Thunder celebrate their first NBA Finals title win with a champions parade throughout downtown Oklahoma City on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. Mandatory Credit: Bryan Terry/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

A shirtless Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with a Canadian flag tied around his waist was running through the streets of Oklahoma City on Tuesday.

There was a very good reason for these shenanigans, though: just a few days prior, the OKC Thunder beat the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, winning the team’s first-ever championship. Gilgeous-Alexander, who was named the league’s regular season MVP, polished off his historic season by winning Finals MVP, too. The former Kentucky guard led the league in scoring (32.7 PPG) while guiding OKC to a 68-win regular season.

So when the entire Thunder team was making their way through the city for the franchise’s championship parade, SGA had plenty to show off. There was no time to sit on the bus and just wave — there were people to greet. He was carrying around the Larry O’Brien Trophy as he walked through busy streets filled with ecstatic fans. The city’s mayor, David Holt, also proclaimed July 30th as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Day in OKC.

FOR THE CITY AND THE STATE 🏆 pic.twitter.com/a6u88EwkHB
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) June 24, 2025

https://t.co/gpaJgD8Nxq pic.twitter.com/CcXlMuNEFh
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) June 24, 2025

According to the Oklahoma Voice, roughly 500,000 people attended the celebration in a city that only holds around 700,000 people. Fans from all over the state made the trip to show up for the parade. The Thunder has only been around since 2008 after the Seattle Supersonics were relocated to OKC. The trio of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden nearly won a title for the Thunder in 2012, but it was Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren who were able to actually make it happen.

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“Don’t ever forget this,” Gilgeous-Alexander told the massive crowd. “Moments in life like this, they don’t come all that often.”

Some guys will play 15 years in the NBA and never even sniff an NBA Finals — moments like this truly don’t come around often. But they very well could for this OKC franchise. Gilgeous-Alexander is only 26 years old and just put together one of the best scoring individual seasons in NBA history. This team was the second-youngest title winner. The roster is filled with youthful talent (shoutout to Cason Wallace), headlined by a still-improving superstar in SGA and arguably the best general manager in all of professional sports in Sam Presti.

Oklahoma City might just need to start preparations for a parade in 2026…