Three years ago, Sam Presti from Oklahoma City made a promise. Maybe people did not notice it for two reasons. First, the team, the Thunder, was very bad then. Second, he used difficult words.

After the 2021-22 season, Presti said, "Labor omnia vincit." This is a famous saying from Oklahoma. It means "hard work wins everything" or "working slowly wins everything."

This applies to the Thunder team. They put in a lot of effort and were careful and patient in their work.

They won against all their enemies.

The Thunder team is the NBA champion this year! Three years ago, they didn't win many games. But this season, they won a lot of games and beat the Indiana Pacers in the final games. This is not good news for other teams. The Thunder's best player, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, is still on the team. Other important players will also play next season. Plus, they have a new player, Nikola Topic, who will be ready to play soon. The Thunder also have some good chances to get more new players this year.

They are young. The players who start the games are about 23 to 27 years old. They are brave, and they will probably be good for a few years.

Gilgeous-Alexander said they can still improve a lot. He is happy about this because many players can get better. He thinks the team has a lot to learn, both alone and together. He is excited about what the team can do in the future. He believes this is a good beginning.

It's a good time for them to start doing well.

Many teams have questions for next season, but Oklahoma City does not. Jayson Tatum, Damian Lillard, and Tyrese Haliburton all have leg injuries and will probably miss most of next season. LeBron James will play his 23rd season for the Los Angeles Lakers. Stephen Curry will be 38 next season for Golden State. Kevin Durant will soon go to Houston and will play his 18th season. Philadelphia hopes Joel Embiid will be healthy. New York will get a new coach.

Oklahoma City appears to be well-organized and has everything in order.

"Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said that this team has many good players."

Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren enjoy playing together and don't care who gets the praise. Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein did well in the roles the Thunder gave them. Luguentz Dort is a very good defender, and he knows that many people don't understand how good he is at defending.

It's not just the players who don't care about showing off. The leaders also don't care.

Caruso said, "You can't be sure of anything in this league. Teams change every year because of trades or injuries, things you can't control. Winning the championship is amazing. It's not easy to win every year. We will be ready to get better and try to win again next year."

Presti, who planned everything, does not often speak in public. The owner, Clay Bennett, also does not speak much. And coach Mark Daigneault stays very calm when there are problems. He is the best person to lead the Thunder team.

Daigneault said, "You might not finish it like we did. I really wanted them to win. I was very happy that we did it, and they can feel this because they earned it. They work hard, are good at their jobs, want to win, and always think about the team first. I really wanted them to have this.

The Thunder's journey is not over. It is just starting. Presti has many draft picks, and the team has money to get a new player if they want. Now, they must try to win the championship again.

If you work hard, you can achieve anything. We still have more tasks to complete.

Presti said in 2022 that they had a lot of hard work to do. He said they needed to work hard. He explained that this is important for the state, the community, and the basketball team.