Sam Presti, who manages the team in Oklahoma City, made a promise three years ago. Maybe people didn't notice it because of two things. First, the team was very bad back then. Second, he used words that were difficult to understand.

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

This is true for the Thunder, no matter how you look at it. They put in a lot of effort and were careful.

They won against all their enemies.

The Thunder used to be a bad team, but now they are champions. They won a difficult final game against the Indiana Pacers. This is not good news for other teams. They have a great player, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is the best player in the league. He and the other main players will stay with the team next season. They also have a new young player who did not play this year because he was hurt. And they will get more good players in the next draft.

They are young. The players who start the games are about 23 to 27 years old. They are brave and could be playing well for some time.

Gilgeous-Alexander said, "We can still get much better. That's what makes it fun. Many of us can improve. Most of us on the team are not at our best age yet. We can all grow a lot, both alone and together as a team. I am happy about what will happen with this team. This is a good start, for sure." He has won many awards, like the best player and the best player in the NBA Finals. He was also the best scorer in the league, and now he is an NBA champion.

It's good that they are starting to do well at this time.

Many teams have questions about next season, but Oklahoma City does not. Jayson Tatum, Damian Lillard, and Tyrese Haliburton are injured and will likely miss most of next season. LeBron James will play his 23rd season for the Los Angeles Lakers. Stephen Curry will be 38 next season. Kevin Durant will play his 18th season for Houston. Philadelphia needs Joel Embiid to be healthy. New York will get a new coach.

Oklahoma City appears to be well-organized and has all the necessary things.

"Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said that the 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 fit well into the jobs the Thunder gave them. Luguentz Dort is a great defender, and he knows that most people don't see how good he is at it.

The players don't care about showing off, and the leaders don't either.

Caruso said, "You can't be sure of anything in this league. Every year, people forget that things can change quickly. Your team might change because of a trade or an injury, or something else you can't control. Winning the championship is amazing. It's not easy to win every year. We'll be ready to work hard and try again next year."

Sam Presti made everything happen, but he almost never talks to people. Clay Bennett, who owns the team, also rarely talks. Coach Mark Daigneault stays calm when there are problems, and he is a very good leader for the Thunder team.

Daigneault said, "You might not finish like we did. I really wanted them to win. I was very happy that we did it, and they can enjoy it because they earned it. They work hard, are professional, like to compete, and always put the team first. As I said, I really wanted them to have this.

The Thunder's journey is not over; it's just starting. They have many draft picks and money to get new players if they want. Now they need to win again.

If you work hard, you can achieve anything. However, there is still more work that needs to be done.

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