Australian Alex Ducas' OKC Thunder wins NBA title

• Australian Alex Ducas' Thunder win their first NBA championship
• Australian Johnny Furphy's Indiana Pacers come up one game short in their quest for a championship
• How to watch every 2025 NBL1 game live and free with Bounce Pass

Australian Alex Ducas' Oklahoma City Thunder are the 2025 NBA Champions.

Ducas, 24, played 21 games for the Thunder in 2024-25 but was not on the team that beat the Indiana Pacers 103-91 in Oklahoma City to win the series 4-3.

Australian Johnny Furphy, 20, suffered the heartbreaking disappointment of being on the losing end.

Furphy played 12 minutes in the Finals and scored a bucket in the Game 5 loss.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander capped off a remarkable season, adding the Finals MVP to his regular season MVP.

"It doesn't feel real," Gilgeous-Alexander said.

"So many hours. So many moments. So many emotions. So many nights of disbelief.

"So many nights of belief. It's crazy to know that we're all here, but this group worked for it.

"This group put in the hours, and we deserve this."

Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault praised the togetherness of his group.

"They behave like champions. They compete like champions," Daigneault said.

"They root for each other's success, which is rare in professional sports. I've said it many times, and now I'm going to say it one more time.

"They are an uncommon team, and now they're champions."

Indiana's Tyrese Haliburton torn his Achilles midway through the first quarter. Haliburton greeted his teammates, on crutches with his head cover by a towel, as they made their way back to the locker room after the final buzzer.

"All of our hearts dropped," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said.

TJ McConnell said: "To go down like that, be selfless and just continuing to cheer for us. Even though he can't play, I think that just speaks volumes to who Tyrese Haliburton is, one of the greatest human beings I've come in contact with."

Haliburton will almost certainly miss the entire 2025-26 season given the injury happened in late June.

"I'm proud of that kid," Pacers Pascal Siakam said.

"He went through so much during the year. A lot of criticism. It's a lot for a young kid to go through, and he had a lot of stress. And he just kept fighting. He kept fighting every single day.

"He did some incredible things, this whole playoff run and this year. I'm just super proud of him. Obviously, it hurts because we couldn't get it done, and I wanted it so bad for him just because I know that he gave us everything — everything he had. It just hurts that he couldn't see it through with us."

Players on the winning team are guaranteed championship rings while other contracted players may be given rings by the franchise's owners such as two-way players, training staff and support staff.

Alex Ducas: Five Fast Facts

1. Ducas holds the record for most games played (150) in Saint Mary's basketball program history.
2. He finished second all-time at Saint Mary's with 278 three-pointers made.
3. Ducas won a gold medal with Australia at the 2022 FIBA Asia Cup.
4. He began his career in the Australian state leagues before moving to the United States for college.
5. Ducas signed a two-way contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder after going undrafted in 2024.

Alex Ducas Career Highlights

2016: Debuted for the Geraldton Buccaneers in the State Basketball League at age 15.

2017: Joined the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence in Canberra.

2019: Won the SBL championship with the Geraldton Buccaneers.

2019: Began college career at Saint Mary's College.

2022: Named to the All-West Coast Conference Second Team.

2022: Won gold with Australia at the FIBA Asia Cup in Jakarta.

2024: Again named to the All-West Coast Conference Second Team.

2024: Finished college career as Saint Mary's all-time leader in games played (150).

2024: Signed two-way contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder after going undrafted.

2025: Wins a NBA Championship with the Oklahoma City Thunder