The Oklahoma City Thunder‘s surge to the 2025 NBA Finals has ignited comparisons with recent champions. This year’s squad is comparable to many other recent champions, such as the 2021 Bucks, the 2023 Nuggets,

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or Tyrese Haliburton will most likely be this year's NBA Finals MVP. But they're not completely without challengers.

The Thunder have had some of the most dominant players in the NBA play for them during the franchise’s time in Oklahoma City. Three of them have brought home regular season MVP awards. Let’s highlight the achievements of those players during their award-winning campaigns.

Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won the NBA MVP for the 2024-25 season. Following the official announcement, Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt honored the Thunder guard by declaring Thursday to be "Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Day" in Oklahoma City.

A day after being crowned the NBA’s MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 118-103 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves to open up a 2-0 series lead in the Western Conference Finals.

As the Oklahoma City Thunder received their Western Conference champion shirts and hats, former ghosts reappeared throughout social media. From Serge Ibaka to Darius Bazley to Isaiah Roby, ex-players chipped in to congratulate the franchise for returning to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012.

NBA MVP, and former Kentucky basketball player, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a playoff career-high 40 points, and All-NBA forward Jalen Williams had a playoff career-high 34 points for the Thunder. Oklahoma City held Minnesota All-Star Anthony Edwards to an uneventful 16 points and Julius Randle to five points.

If the Thunder's Game 3 victory proved anything, it’s that they are much more of an ensemble cast than than they are an SGA carry job.