Category: NBA

When does NBA on NBC start? Theme song, broadcast team, more originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Fall is associated with plenty of fan favorites: Thanksgiving, Halloween, pumpkin-spice flavored goodies, colder weather, you name it.

But 2025 will see something different. Something that hasn’t been seen since the early 2000s.

NBA on NBC is coming back to television screens and introducing itself to streaming platforms beginning in the 2025-26 league campaign.

A popular theme song is also returning, amidst a new broadcasting team comprised of veteran commentators and former NBA stars.

Here’s everything to know about NBA on NBC in the upcoming season:

When does NBA on NBC start?

NBA on NBC will be back beginning in the 2025-26 NBA season. An exact date for the first broadcast is TBD.

When does the 2025-26 NBA season start?

The 2025-26 season, the 80th in league history, has a regular-season start date of Tuesday, Oct. 21.

What is NBC’s history with the NBA?

The NBA and NBC had their first partnership from 1954 to 1962, before returning in 1990 to 2002 amid Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls‘ dynasty. NBC is part of the new media rights deal with the NBA that will last for 11 years, including games being streamed on Peacock.

What is the NBA on NBC theme song?

Fans can rejoice knowing “Roundball Rock,” the hit theme song for NBA on NBC produced by John Tesh, is returning.

Who is on the NBA on NBC broadcasting team?

Here’s a list of the commentators and former NBA stars who have joined NBC Sports’ broadcasting team thus far:

Play-by-play: Mike Tirico, Noah Eagle

Color analysts: Jamal Crawford, Reggie Miller

Studio host: Maria Taylor

Studio analysts: Carmelo Anthony, Vince Carter

Special contributor: Michael Jordan

Who will broadcast NBA games in 2025-26?

Along with NBA on NBC and Peacock in the new media rights deal, ESPN and ABC will continue its coverage of the league while Amazon Prime Video will be starting its new streaming partnership.

Thunder-Pacers Game 7 draws largest NBA Finals audience in six years originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Oklahoma City’s 103-91 victory over Indiana in Game 7 was the most-watched NBA Finals game in six years.

Sunday night’s game averaged 16.53 million on ABC and ESPN+ according to preliminary ratings data from Nielsen. The audience peaked at 19.28 million during the second half (9:45-10 p.m. EDT).

It is the first time since Toronto wrapped up its title in Game 6 against Golden State in 2019 (18.34 million) that the finals have had an audience over 16 million. The last Game 7, when Cleveland beat Golden State in 2016, averaged 31.02 million.

The seven-game series averaged 10.27 million, down from the 11.31 million average for Boston’s victory over Dallas in five games last year.

The seven games were the most-watched television broadcasts since the first week of May.

ESPN and ABC averaged 6.12 million for the 34 games they carried during the playoffs, a 10% increase over last year.

Thunder-Pacers Game 7 draws largest NBA Finals audience in six years originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Oklahoma City’s 103-91 victory over Indiana in Game 7 was the most-watched NBA Finals game in six years.

Sunday night’s game averaged 16.53 million on ABC and ESPN+ according to preliminary ratings data from Nielsen. The audience peaked at 19.28 million during the second half (9:45-10 p.m. EDT).

It is the first time since Toronto wrapped up its title in Game 6 against Golden State in 2019 (18.34 million) that the finals have had an audience over 16 million. The last Game 7, when Cleveland beat Golden State in 2016, averaged 31.02 million.

The seven-game series averaged 10.27 million, down from the 11.31 million average for Boston’s victory over Dallas in five games last year.

The seven games were the most-watched television broadcasts since the first week of May.

ESPN and ABC averaged 6.12 million for the 34 games they carried during the playoffs, a 10% increase over last year.

Mike Dunleavy, Warriors entering 2025 NBA offseason with clear priority in mind originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – If Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy and his lieutenants in the front office have their way, their roster will look significantly different by mid-July.

The rescue mission begins this week with the 2025 NBA Draft, followed next week by free agency, which Dunleavy indicates will be crucial. After evaluating the Warriors and observing the NBA playoffs, Dunleavy on Monday offered a glimpse of the team’s offseason goals.

“It just is [borne] out that defense is still really important,” he said at Chase Center. “And then, the offensive end, to be able to have space on the floor to combat these defenses.”

Defense first. And then offense.

The postseason provided the Warriors with a different reply to a question they had answered with resounding confidence after completing the regular season with the best defense in the NBA:

When is the No. 1 defense in the league not good enough?

When it gets demolished in the playoffs.

After posting a league-best 109 defensive rating over the final nine weeks of the regular season, the Warriors expressed belief that their defense would position them for a deep playoff run. Maybe even carry them to the NBA Finals.

But after a seven-game series victory over the Houston Rockets in the first round, the Warriors beat the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1 of Western Conference semifinals and then lost four in a row, looking profoundly overmatched without Stephen Curry.

The Timberwolves averaged 114.8 points per game in their four wins. Their offensive rating was 116.9, with an effective-field-goal percentage of 60.4 and an absurd 63.1 true-shooting percentage. Minnesota’s offense was so clinically effective that it nullified its propensity for turnovers.

That same offense ran aground in the conference finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Timberwolves posted an offensive rating of 111.7 and took an appreciable dip in effective-field-goal (54.3) and true-shooting (57.5) percentages. The Thunder feasted on Minnesota turnovers.

So how do the Warriors, painfully aware of the data, retool their roster this summer and became a contender in one of the most competitive conferences in NBA history? Do they address the inconsistent point-of-attack defense? Do they chase a big man with rim-protection credentials?

The top of Dunleavy’s priority list is written in blood.

“I feel like that’s a big debate throughout the league right now,” Dunleavy said. “Generally, the rim protection is more valuable. At least that’s the way guys are paid, and guys are sought-after in trades.

“But if you ask any coach, point of attack is pretty important. Being able to control the ball handling and these pick-and-rolls.”

Golden State’s best point-of-attack defender, Gary Payton II, was not as effective as he has been in the past. Brandin Podziemski is overmatched in that role. Moses Moody is solid but doesn’t have the quicks. Buddy Hield and Curry, by design, prioritize offense.

OKC has Lu Dort and Alex Caruso, Minnesota has Jaden McDaniels and Houston has Amen Thompson. These players are factors in these teams lining up as the top three in the West. Which is why every other team in the West is chasing perimeter defense, either in the draft or from a free-agent market that offers little beyond Amir Coffey, Keon Ellis or Davion Mitchell.

Another factor is that the top-tier teams in the West also have rim protection behind their POA defense. Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein clog the middle for the Thunder, Rudy Gobert for the Timberwolves and Alperen Şengun (he’s improving and he’s only 22) and Steven Adams for the Rockets.

The Warriors have in Trayce Jackson-Davis a solid but not elite rim protector. Draymond Green, still 6-foot-6 but now 35 years old, is overtaxed in that role. Quinten Post stands 7 feet but does not offer that dimension.

The list of free-agent big men includes Brook Lopez and Al Horford, who might be too expensive, along with Clint Capela and the wild card that is Ben Simmons. Any of them would provide a boost.

The Rockets, behind Şengun and Adams, had success in the paint against Golden State. The Timberwolves prevailed behind Julius Randle’s post-ups and the three-level scoring of Anthony Edwards. The Warriors are not alone in having no answer for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Hartenstein-Holmgren combo.

So, they search for POA defenders and rim protectors. They search this week, next week and perhaps beyond because it’s essential to be a threat in the West.

“Both are really important,” Dunleavy said. “With having a guy on our team like Draymond, we’re elite with a guy like that, and I think we can be better on the ball. I don’t want to say that means it’s more important on the ball for us. I would say both are extremely important, and we’ll look to handle both those in free agency.”

The Warriors are early in an important week, knowing that next week shapes up as being vastly more significant. They know the task, and the hard part is days away.

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The NBA season ended less than 24 hours ago, but there is no offseason for sports television transactions.

Maria Taylor has been named NBC Sports’ lead NBA and WNBA studio host for the company’s upcoming NBA coverage on NBC and Peacock, an industry source briefed on the move said Monday. NBC Sports will make the news official later Monday.

Taylor will host NBA studio shows on Sunday and Tuesday nights as part of a group that includes Carmelo Anthony and Vince Carter. Taylor will also host select WNBA games on NBC and Peacock when the company begins airing the WNBA in the spring of 2026. (NBC will air the 2026 WNBA semifinals and Finals.)

Along with her new assignments, Taylor signed a multiyear contract extension with the company that will have her working at NBC Sports’ properties deep into the 2020s, the source said.

Neither the NBA and women’s basketball are new terrain for Taylor. During her seven years at ESPN, she hosted NBA Finals coverage, the company’s NBA Countdown show and NCAA Women’s Tournament coverage. She failed to reach a contract extension with ESPN in 2021 and, upon the conclusion of her ESPN deal, she joined NBC Sports.

Since arriving at NBC, Taylor served as the lead host of “Football Night in America,” the “B1G College Countdown” and various roles for NBC’s Olympics coverage, including as a late-night host for the recent Paris Games.

Both Amazon and NBCUniversal have been acquiring and assigning on-air talent for their upcoming NBA coverage following the NBA renewing its partnership with ESPN/ABC and forming new agreements with NBCU and Amazon as part of a combined $77  billion deal which starts with the 2025-26 season and runs through the 2035-36 season.

As part of the new rights deal, NBC and Peacock will present national coverage of regional doubleheaders on Tuesday nights beginning in October. Upon the conclusion of “Sunday Night Football,” NBC Sports will launchSunday Night Basketball across NBC and Peacock, debuting Feb. 1. Peacock will also livestream exclusive national Monday night games starting this fall.

The company will air six conference finals, the NBA All-Star Game and All-Star Saturday night as part of its NBA deal.

“We hope to have a fantastic studio show and studio talent around what we see as the game of the week and we will use our team appearances working closely with the NBA on making it the best matchup that we possibly can have at that point of the season,” NBC Sports president Rick Cordella previously told . “We’ve obviously had a lot of success on ‘Sunday Night Football.’ I’d love to say someone had a eureka moment coming up with the idea for ‘Sunday Night Basketball’ but I think it was just natural to us at NBC Sports that this would be a franchise we wanted to create outside of football season. Certainly we have a (broadcast) window open there (after the NFL season). We pitched it to the NBA and it’s an easy to understand concept.”

As far as game coverage, NBC Sports hired Jamal Crawford and Reggie Miller as game analysts to join play-by-play hosts Mike Tirico and Noah Eagle. During NBCUniversal’s upfront presentation to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall in New York City last May, the company announced that Michael Jordan would serve in a “special contributor” role. They also hired coordinating producer Frank DiGraci, who helped make the YES Network the gold standard for NBA regional broadcasts.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

NBA, WNBA, Sports Business

2025 The Athletic Media Company

Why Mike Dunleavy claims Warriors adding big-salary star is ‘almost impossible' originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

So, it might not be a Giannis Antetokounmpo summer?

Mike Dunleavy told reporters on Monday about the Warriors’ offseason plans as the 2025 NBA Draft nears, and the general manager let it be known that merely attempting to bring one or some of the league’s biggest names to San Francisco will be quite challenging because of Golden State’s financial situation.

“Only because just of our salary structure and the way it works with the amount of money you can use underneath the second apron,” Dunleavy said. “That probably restricts it more than anything for us in terms of pursuing the best roster we can.

“I think we’ll look at stuff. We’ll look at players that we really like that may — we’ve just got to be — it’s just almost impossible for us to add players in the salary range of guys we were looking at last summer since we’ve added Jimmy.”

The Warriors are pretty handcuffed when it comes to pursuing stars.

Entering the 2025-26 NBA season, Golden State has $139.63 million, or 90.2 percent of the salary cap, committed to stars Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green alone. And that’s before calculating a possible contract extension with restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga.

Though the limitations won’t stop Dunleavy and the Warriors from searching. A trademark of the Curry era, Golden State always finds itself tied to the NBA’s brightest stars, whether on the free-agent market or through trade rumors.

“That would be the only limiter,” Dunleavy said about Golden State’s hands being tied after acquiring Butler. “But in terms of finding talent, improving this team, we’re going to look under every rock to try and do that.”

The Warriors’ best option might just be to re-sign Kuminga, as his development paired with improved chemistry probably is the most affordable “upgrade.” 

But if there’s one thing Golden State’s vintage free-agent acquisition of Kevin Durant taught Dub Nation and the league, it’s that the Warriors shouldn’t ever be counted out in bids for top players.

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Mike Dunleavy wants resolution to Jonathan Kuminga's NBA free agency quickly originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – Now that the 2024-25 NBA season officially has come to a close with the Oklahoma City Thunder being crowned champions, everybody’s full attention can turn to the buzz around the draft, free agency and trade rumors. 

The first round of the NBA draft takes place Wednesday, followed by the second round on Thursday. The Warriors own just one pick at No. 41 overall this year, and it’s highly unlikely they jump into the first round.

For the Warriors, the offseason is centered around their top pick from four years ago, an enigma of a player that has the fan base pulling one way or the other in a never-ending game of tug o’ war. 

Jonathan Kuminga’s restricted free agency will be fascinating to watch. The sides couldn’t agree on a rookie extension last offseason, and now the player and team find themselves at a crossroads of trying to figure out what’s next. 

Stay alert. Turn your notifications on. Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy also wants an answer without further delay. 

“I think we’re in a good spot with it, honestly,” Dunleavy said Monday at Chase Center. “We have the ability to bring him back. He’s restricted. I think there will be good dialogue. I’d like to figure something out sooner than later. That would be great.”

"I think we're in a good spot with it."

Mike Dunleavy weighs in on Jonathan Kuminga's impending restricted free agency pic.twitter.com/DuTgCHFjJR

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) June 23, 2025

Dunleavy knows it might not be that simple. But what the Warriors do with Kuminga essentially dictates their offseason. 

“I also acknowledge, with restricted free agency, these things can drag out a little bit and take some time,” Dunleavy continued. “I think we feel pretty comfortable with who JK is as a player and what he can do for our organization. … It’s a main priority going into free agency.” 

Free agency doesn’t officially begin until July 6 at 9:01 a.m. PT. However, teams can start negotiating with free agents on June 30, one week from now, at 3 p.m. PT. 

Since Kuminga is a restricted free agent, the Warriors can match the terms of any offer he agrees to with another team. They don’t want to lose Kuminga for nothing. They won’t. 

Executing a sign-and-trade is an option, and Dunleavy already has shown his creativity as a dealmaker in his tenure as GM. Remember, Klay Thompson didn’t sign with the Dallas Mavericks last offseason. He technically was traded to them by the Warriors as part of a historic six-team sign-and-trade. 

The Warriors don’t want to wait this out. Kuminga and his camp likely don’t either. Coming to a resolution in the somewhat immediate future will be best for both parties, Dunleavy believes. 

“I think just clarity,” Dunleavy explained. “Roster clarity in terms of what else we need to add in free agency, also what we have to spend in terms of minimums, exceptions, those different types of things. I think the sooner the better for everyone. His sake, too, I believe. 

“But like I said, restricted free agency can be a little different, so we may have to be patient.” 

Patience might have run out for both Kuminga and the Warriors. There have been times when he has been talked about like the next young star who holds the keys to Golden State raising another banner. There have been stretches where Kuminga is an easy 20-point scorer that nobody can contain. 

There also have been longer stretches where it seems like Kuminga forgets who Steph Curry is, and coach Steve Kerr forgets Kuminga is still on the roster. Kuminga didn’t fit alongside Jimmy Butler, and then averaged 24.3 points in the final four playoff games when Curry was sidelined from a strained hamstring. 

The Warriors also didn’t win any of those games, and Kuminga was given three DNPs in the Warriors’ first five playoff games. 

While the NBA season officially ended Sunday night, the offseason began about 10 hours before the Thunder celebrated their championship when former Warriors star Kevin Durant was traded by the Phoenix Suns to the Houston Rockets. A handful of teams could see Kuminga as a younger fallback option now that Durant has his newest home. 

The Brooklyn Nets are known to have ample salary cap space, and Kuminga’s age, as someone who doesn’t turn 23 years old until October, fits their timeline. The Chicago Bulls have shown interest in the past, and Kuminga’s best skills as one of the game’s top athletes are in alignment with how the Bulls play best. 

Whatever the Warriors do next outside of their second-round draft pick, everything ends and begins by having the best feel of Kuminga’s market. Dunleavy didn’t mince his words; he didn’t hide from the questions. The Warriors have to finally put an end to the will-they-or-won’t-they of Kuminga. 

Even if Kuminga does return, the saga and drama could certainly continue, too.

Be ready. The Warriors’ offseason is here.

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Why second-round draft picks are so important to Celtics, similar teams originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Celtics have an expensive roster.

As one of the few NBA teams in the second apron of the luxury tax, the C’s likely will look to shed salary this offseason. Trading a few veteran players would be the most effective way to do this.

The second apron limits how teams can improve their rosters, which makes getting below that salary line pretty important.

But any team that finds itself over the luxury tax (and over the first or second apron) needs to watch how it spends money, and that objective isn’t just limited to trades and free agency. It’s a key part of the NBA Draft process, too.

First-round picks are more expensive and their salaries have more guarantees than players taken in the second round. How much of a difference can that make?

Our Celtics insider Chris Forsberg explains.

“Why are second-round picks so valuable to teams like the Celtics that linger above the luxury tax line? First-round picks in the NBA Draft have a predetermined salary slot over four seasons,”  Forsberg said, as seen in the video player above. 

“And if the Celtics were to utilize the No. 28 pick in this year’s draft, that player would earn as much as $2.8 million in Year 1 and escalate to $5.5 million in Year 4. But second-round picks can now be signed to similar-length deals starting at minimum salaries. They don’t escalate as quickly, and they do not have to be guaranteed for all of the years.

“For teams watching their spending, the difference between picking at spot 30 and 31 can be quite stark. So don’t be surprised if the Celtics consider moving their first-round pick and focus on making selections in Round 2.”

Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

The Celtics own the No. 28 overall pick in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft, which is scheduled for Wednesday night in Brooklyn. They also own the No. 32 pick, which is the second overall selection in the second round. This second-round pick was acquired in a previous trade.

The No. 32 pick is very valuable because it allows the Celtics to take a player with first-round caliber talent, but they don’t have to sign him to a more expensive first-round pick contract.

The increased value of second-round picks is why we see more of them in trades. Teams want these picks.

For example, Kevin Durant was traded from the Phoenix Suns to the Houston Rockets on Sunday in a blockbuster deal. Part of the return package for the Suns was five second-round picks. We didn’t see so many second-rounders get dealt five or 10 years ago. But in today’s NBA, they are valuable.

And it makes sense, too. If you look at recent drafts, there’s almost always a couple good players who fall to the second round. Here are some of the best examples:

• 2020 draft: Xavier Tillman Sr., Isaiah Joe, Tre Jones, Sam Merrill
• 2021 draft: Herb Jones, Ayo Dosunmu, Neemias Queta, Aaron Wiggns
• 2022 draft: Andrew Nembhard, Max Christie, Jaden Hardy
• 2023 draft: GG Jackson II, Toumani Camara
• 2024 draft: Kyle Filipowski, Jaylen Wells, Quinten Post

If the Celtics are on the clock at No. 28 Wednesday night and the player(s) they like might still be available a few picks later in the second round, it would make sense to trade down and acquire the player while reducing the cost of his deal.

It’s a risk, of course. The player might get drafted before Boston goes back on the clock.

But with the current collective bargaining agreement and based on how the luxury tax now works, these are the kinds of decisions teams need to think more about. Saving a couple million dollars can actually have massive implications, especially for teams that are very close to the first or second apron lines.

Mike Dunleavy reveals if Warriors could trade into 2025 NBA Draft's first round originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

For the second consecutive year, the Warriors aren’t scheduled to select a player in the NBA draft’s first round. But could that change?

General manager Mike Dunleavy envisions Golden State exploring all trade opportunities during the 2025 NBA Draft on Wednesday — including moving up into the first round. He believes some possibilities, however, are more likely than others.

“As far as trade, we’ll look at stuff,” Dunleavy told reporters during his pre-draft availability on Monday. “I think most likely in the second round, it’s probably looking at moving up or back within that round. Is there a possibility we could move into the first round? Sure. I wouldn’t put it at highly likely, but you never know.

“On draft night, you get calls, you explore things, you look at stuff, and we’ll continue to do that.”

The Warriors traded their 2025 first-round pick to the Miami Heat in February as part of the Jimmy Butler deal, receiving a 2025 second-round pick in the return package. Miami will pick at No. 20 on Wednesday, while Golden State’s second-rounder is at No. 41.

And while the Warriors certainly are no stranger to making big moves under Dunleavy, with Butler and a six-team sign-and-trade deal that included Klay Thompson and the Dallas Mavericks last summer, the GM explained Golden State could wait until after the draft is over to strike.

“Yeah, I think there’s a lot of different ways we can go,” Dunleavy said. “We’ve got some free agents that are priorities. We’ve got to handle that. But some of that stuff may lead into trades and other things. Obviously, we got wound up into a big deal last summer, multi-team trade. Anytime you get into the free agent stuff and you start looking at exceptions and cap space, it lends itself to we’ll be opportunistic. 

“I think with our cap and strategy group, those guys are really good. It’s hard to say, though, now honestly as far as what’s out there and what could happen. But we’ll definitely be in the mix. I think we’ve shown a history of doing that.”

Let the phone calls begin.

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Thunder-Pacers Game 7 draws largest NBA Finals audience in six years originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Oklahoma City’s 103-91 victory over Indiana in Game 7 was the most-watched NBA Finals game in six years.

Sunday night’s game averaged 16.53 million on ABC and ESPN+ according to preliminary ratings data from Nielsen. The audience peaked at 19.28 million during the second half (9:45-10 p.m. EDT).

It is the first time since Toronto wrapped up its title in Game 6 against Golden State in 2019 (18.34 million) that the finals have had an audience over 16 million. The last Game 7, when Cleveland beat Golden State in 2016, averaged 31.02 million.

The seven-game series averaged 10.27 million, down from the 11.31 million average for Boston’s victory over Dallas in five games last year.

The seven games were the most-watched television broadcasts since the first week of May.

ESPN and ABC averaged 6.12 million for the 34 games they carried during the playoffs, a 10% increase over last year.

These were supposed to be the boring finals, a contest between two small-city teams with none of the media pull of Boston or New York or even Denver for that matter, featuring the (allegedly) most overrated guard in the NBA, no personalities, relentless fouling, and a Canadian MVP whose ascendancy seemed to indicate nothing more than the terminal decline of America as a stable of elite basketballing talent. Instead we were treated to the most thrilling and unpredictable finals since LeBron James came through with his famous rejection in 2016 – a bustling, punishing, seven-game exhibition of physical basketball whose outcome was genuinely unclear until the final quarter of the season. Denigrated and dismissed by a basketballing commentariat who’ve spent much of this season ruing the modern NBA’s dearth of charisma, Oklahoma City and Indiana played as if stung by the laugh lines, launching from both ends of the court with a kind of mad, symphonic intensity.

If the finals of the past few years were about punctuating a dynasty (Golden State in 2022), letting Nikola Jokić be Nikola Jokić (Denver in 2023), and mastering a technocratic synthesis of all the elements of the modern game (the Celtics last season), this was a victory built on turnovers, flops, dives, steals, slingshot passes, and snap threes from distance. It was grubby at times, but it was all the more beautiful for its lunging desperation. At the end of it all, the team with the best regular-season record and the best player in the league emerged victorious. In years to come this stat line alone may confer a sheen of inevitability over the season. But Oklahoma City’s victory in Sunday night’s decider – like these finals and the playoffs generally – was anything but predictable. Even after star guard Tyrese Haliburton, who played through the finals with a calf strain, exited the court with a ripped achilles late in the first quarter, the Pacers would not give up.

Related: The $10bn LA Lakers sale proves sports have outgrown even most billionaires

By the time the triumphant Thunder players made it to the trophy podium, they seemed so drained by their accomplishment they didn’t know how to behave. With an average age of 25.6, these are the youngest NBA champions in almost half a century – and at the moment of climax it’s fair to say their inexperience finally showed. “It’s your time guys, celebrate,” presenter Lisa Salter encouraged them as the TV formalities concluded. Draped in confetti, SGA, J Dub and the rest proceeded to do nothing, milling around the Larry O’Brien trophy like interns at their first summer networking event awkwardly circling the buffet. Never has a champion NBA team so comprehensively rebuked its cultural critics on the court while confirming the basic accuracy of their critique off it.

With their love of group interviews, relentless positivity, and unfortunate penchant for barking, this vintage of the Oklahoma City Thunder often seems more like an a cappella troupe than a basketball team, a band of barber shop Harlem Globetrotters ready to pop up on the campus of our collective psyche at any moment and begin a relentless assault of harmonization and good vibes. Head coach Mark Daigneault is fond of describing them as an “uncommon” team – but what may be most uncommon about them is how supremely, relatably dorky they are. In a world of professional trolls, red-pilled everything and constant worry about the state of Young Men Today, there’s something vaguely refreshing about a group of perky young dudes who carry themselves with the amiable, well mannered aspect of a wealth management professional talking you through reallocation options for your 401k. It also helps, of course, that they are very good at basketball – and these finals have offered a stunning, all-court demonstration of their versatility across the boards.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is, of course, the supernova, a player so richly accomplished – and syllabic – that at the underripe age of 26, he’s already earned the right, like MJ, CP3 and KD before him, to be known by his initials. SGA put together 15 30-point performances throughout this playoff run, a total exceeded during a single postseason by only Michael Jordan in 1992 and Hakeem Olajuwon in 1995. After Sunday night’s game, he is also the first player in 25 years to scoop all three of the regular season MVP award, the finals MVP gong, and the season scoring title. Not since Shaquille O’Neal was getting around the court in shorts big enough to dress a king bed has there been a player as dominant across all the major awards categories over a single season.

SGA’s rise is all the more improbable when you consider his relative softness from three point range, which is – or so the last decade would have us think – the route to glory in today’s NBA. Where other greats of the modern game dominate through power, speed, or precision, SGA’s great skill is variation: variation of pace in the paint, variation of the shooting angles he creates for himself, variation of the heights from which he detonates his lethal mid-range game. He’s as comfortable unleashing one inch off the floor as he is stepping back to gain elevation over an isolated marker, and with the ankle elasticity of prime Gaël Monfils his joints allow him to turn even the most improbable looks into routine buckets. The freakish and frankly slightly scary vision of Gilgeous-Alexander’s calves operating at 45 degrees to his feet has become a constant of these finals; at other times he’s shown his uncommon comfort with a game played at waist height, tucked in on himself, headband showing like a set of antlers, fending forward with a hyper-extended leg then snapping back to reel off another unsplashily effective jumper.

This is a player so rich in mobility, so relentlessly and inventively productive, that it’s almost boring to catalogue his routes to the basket. One incredible sequence during a critical stretch of the fourth quarter in Game 5, right as the Pacers were threatening another madcap comeback, saw Gilgeous-Alexander steal the ball off a wayward Andrew Nembhard pass, vacuum up the court, assess two defenders, launch himself short of them, hang for what seemed like five seconds, then extend his left arm forward like a human selfie stick to sink the bucket of the glass, drawing a foul in the process. Poison at one end and caviar at the other: this is the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander guarantee, the recipe that allows him to cook so ferociously every time he steps on the court.

Each member of the Thunder supporting cast brings their own presents to the party: Chet Holmgren, the “unicorn” big that the Thunder nabbed with the second overall draft pick in 2022, offers a windmilling protection under the rim far more robust than his rope-like physique might suggest; Jalen Williams, at 24, has shown signs that he could match or even one day exceed SGA’s prodigious offensive stats; Alex Caruso plays the old hand (he’s 31, but that’s positively ancient by the standards of this team), calming the kids or jamming the opposition’s spokes as the occasion demands; Lu Dort, a four-fingered Florentine steak of a man, has the name of a 1980s action movie villain and the brawn to match. For all the individuality of these weapons, however, this is very much a team built in SGA’s image, all stretching and running. Relentless movement, positional interchanges, defense wielded as an offensive weapon, offense that flows seamlessly into defense, limbs that bend like liquid … Had I not already gone for an aquatic metaphor, it would be tempting to describe this as a cappella basketball – but even then the imagery doesn’t quite work, because the Thunder operate at a different level, exploding the rigidity of fixed harmonic divisions. No one in this team ever holds the same line; basses, tenors, and counter-tenors all merge, sharing each other’s music. When one Gilgeous is put down, an Alexander pops up; you might get past Jalen Williams, but then you have to deal with Jaylin Williams.

Thirteen years ago the Thunder made it to the finals with their magical trio of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden. The rebuild since that near-champion team broke up has been long, and at various points – especially three years ago, when Oklahoma City finished the regular season with just 24 wins – it looked like it might all come to nothing. Now the reward for general manager Sam Presti’s patience is a young team of champions who stand a good chance of finally breaking the post-Warriors NBA’s cycle of parity. This Thunder roster looks likely to stay intact for the next few seasons – and who, legitimately, will stand in their way of a second ring? The Celtics’ hopes of another title to complement last year’s depend on Jayson Tatum’s achilles; the Jokić-led Nuggets look a few players short of a champion roster; Ant’s Timberwolves aren’t ready; the Lakers have prime Luka but an aging LeBron, plus a looming change of ownership to contend with. Perhaps the Thunder’s stiffest challengers next year will be the ones they’ve just faced.

A word, then, for the fallen. In their strutlessness, commitment, and lack of ego, this Indiana team resemble nothing so much as their vanquisher last night. As they put together their historic run to the finals – the franchise’s first in 25 years – they took on the air of a team of destiny, an ensemble for whom no deficit was too great and no amount of time to reverse it too small. For a brief moment last night, as 6ft 1in point guard TJ McConnell, asked to step up in place of the injured Haliburton, repeatedly blew past Holmgren, a man one foot his superior, and conjured a string of evading layups high off the glass, it seemed like the masters of the comeback were about to pull off their greatest heist yet. Instead the Thunder gradually reasserted control, Holmgren rediscovered the gift of his wing span, and as the final quarter began the fans at Paycom Center got the celebrations under way.

In years to come the defining image of the night – and of this season – may not be of Gilgeous-Alexander accepting the finals MVP award with a rueful grin, or of Caruso pumping the home crowd when victory was all but assured. Instead it will be of a stricken Haliburton thumping the court in distress toward the end of the first quarter as he understood that his achilles, like his participation in the title decider, was done. The exit of the Pacers star, who started these playoffs saddled with the tag of the NBA’s most overrated player and ends them widely hailed as arguably the most clutch player that basketball has seen since Kobe Bryant, robbed the spectacle of some of its tension, however valiant the Tyrese-eless Pacers’ resistance remained in the face of looming defeat. But their miraculous run to the finals will not be forgotten soon: the Thunder may have had the most complete season, but no team in this year’s NBA has produced better quarters than Indiana. Haliburton will be back, maybe even before the end of next season – and the Pacers will be restless to complete the last step of the journey begun with last season’s eastern conference finals appearance and this year’s advance to the big dance.

Polite, young, considerate, and barkingly competitive on the court, these two teams seem set to define professional basketball for the next decade. The NBA has officially entered its nice guy era – and if it goes on to produce more postseasons as absorbing as this year’s, all the grumbles about the league’s lack of personalities and swagger, all the agita about the end of basketballing cool and American MVPs and Anthony Edwards being the sport’s only hope will, one imagines, fairly quickly fade into history.