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A dozen days short of the anniversary, the Oklahoma City Thunder have finally been usurped on the NBA throne. The New York Knicks capped off one of the greatest postseason runs with a Game 5 win over the San Antonio Spurs in the 2026 NBA Finals.
Now, the Thunder return to being in the chase — along with 28 other teams. The Knicks will wear the crown for a year. They went an unreal 16-3 in the 2026 NBA playoffs. Jalen Brunson captured the NBA Finals MVP with 45 points to close things out on the road.
As always, there are lessons to learn from the recently-named NBA champions. No two teams can be exact one-for-one copies, but the Thunder could learn these three valuable lessons from the Knicks' Cinderella run to the Larry O'Brien trophy:
Empty the tank
With a determined look in the eye, Brunson was ready to bury the Spurs right then and there. No Game 5 shenanigans with the dream of closing it out back at home. Nope. You're tempting fate. He saved his best game for last with an unreal 45 points to close out the Spurs. For the series, he averaged 32.6 points on 42.1% shooting. He took 26.6 shot attempts.
As a two-time MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander could take notes. He averaged a pedestrian 25.9 points on 19.6 shot attempts in his epic seven-game series against the Spurs. The walking 30-point bucket only crossed that mark three times. Can't let that happen. That's one thing he's struggled with in his career — going all out. He had four straight outings from Games 3-6 where he took fewer than 20 shot attempts. You're selling OKC short by being passive.
Wembanyama is human
With their eyes hopefully glued to the NBA Finals, the Thunder should learn to walk over to their light switch and check the closet. See? No monsters in it. Victor Wembanyama is human. You saw that firsthand with his NBA Finals struggles. The 7-foot-4 center shot a measly 42.3% from the field. He had 19 points on 7-of-19 shooting in Game 5. Quite the juxtaposition to his monstrous Western Conference Finals that earned him some hardware.
Now, it's the Thunder's turn to do the same as the Knicks. Attack, attack, attack. Brunson had no problem hunting out Wembanyama on switches. Heck, that's how he closed things out in most of New York's wins. As great a shot-blocker as he is, you have to make him uncomfortable by steering him away from his roamer role. OKC never really did that in its seven games against him. It played right into its hands.
Health, health, health
It's been reiterated to annoying levels, but the Thunder need better health luck next year. This was really the first time injuries with this group plagued a postseason run. Jalen Williams only played two whole playoff games, looking like his usual self. He toughed out Game 6 against San Antonio, but clearly wasn't anywhere near himself. Elsewhere, Ajay Mitchell missed the latter half of the series — from Game 3's second half to the rest of the way.
You need all hands on deck to beat the Spurs. The Knicks did that. Mitchell Robinson played through a broken finger. He secured a game-sealing offensive rebound in Game 5. New York had contributions from everybody, but OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns were heroes in their own right. Williams and Mitchell could've had the same role if both suited up. Alas, that's how the cookie crumbles sometimes.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Here are 3 lessons OKC Thunder could learn from 2026 NBA Finals
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