The NBA championship celebration on Tuesday started when Oklahoma City Thunder players gathered to address fans at the Paycom Center.
Emcee Paris Lawson got the event started before several Thunder players spoke to the crowd with the Larry O'Brien NBA championship trophy in tow, including league and Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
"Just thankful — very grateful, very blessed," Gilgeous-Alexander said to a cheering crowd. "So many things go into this. Some of the things are out of your control. And we've all been very lucky to make it this far in the season, be this healthy, but ultimately be this happy. You don't ever want to take that for granted."
Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt said the arrival of the Thunder changed things here. And this victory will change things again.
"A championship in sports is a prism through which the world views the city's overall success," Holt said. "The world is watching us today, and we know that the immortality we achieve today opens up doors of opportunity for decades to come."
He then proclaimed a special day for each Thunder player in Oklahoma City during July.
Along the route
From the Paycom Center, the team, their coaches, the ownership group and support staff loaded onto buses and trucks for the championship parade.
Ready to greet them, hundreds of thousands of fans lined the city's downtown streets, adorned in cobalt blue basketball jerseys and lots of sunscreen.
Below a giant OKC Thunder flag at the parade's start, Tasha Brown sat in the shade as music blared and people scooched past her. She woke up at 5 a.m. to arrive by 7:45 a.m. and secure a good spot.
"I'm so happy that we won and I'm so happy that Oklahoma City gets to get this parade because they deserve it," Brown said.
Brown has been a Thunder basketball fan since she moved to the city in 2014. On top of seeing the team's camaraderie and the way they play together, she said this championship means a lot to Oklahomans.
After all, it's a win that's 17 years in the making.
"Like, you have to get behind these guys. You can't not be behind these guys," Brown said. "...And I just love it for the city. They won for the city. Like the shirts say, they won for the city and I'm glad they did that."
Further down the parade route, Tyce Smiley and his brother, Asher, sat near the Oklahoma National Memorial Museum. Tyce said he's a hardcore Thunder fan.
"This is like one of the best moments of my life, I'd have to say," Tyce said.
Asher said he was looking forward to seeing the players and their reaction because for many of them, it's their first NBA championship. The event, he said, is a special moment to share with his family.
"Our entire family are Thunder fans so it's not that hard to come together for things like this," Asher said. "So, it's fun to be able to do it with him."
Adult beverages were also popular along the route. K.T. King was passing out mimosas to friends and fellow fans alike near the intersection of Robert S. Kerr and Walker Avenues.
He regularly attends games and said this victory means a lot to him and the city.
"It's incredible for Okies to finally have a top dog," King said. "And so to see them make it over the mountain top in game seven, it means everything, you know, to see the championship banners here and a bazillion people out here. I mean, it's amazing. Yeah, it's really cool."
The parade stretched from the intersection at 10th Street and Harvey Avenue all the way to Scissortail Park, where there was a closing ceremony to finish off the day's festivities.
After a pair of police motorcycles swooshed down the street, a host of buses kicked off the parade.
Then there was Rumble.
DJs on truckbeds blasted music while machines spurted out white, blue and orange confetti. Mayor David Holt and Gov. Kevin Stitt waved and cheered to the crowd. Familiar faces of the Thunder franchise, head coach Mark Daigneault, chairman Clay Bennet, general manager Sam Presti and former player Nick Collison, rolled in as the Thunder Drummers set the beat.
While Loud City roared "O-K-C," the Larry O'Brien trophy was carried down the street and shared with the crowd. Thunder players Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Cason Wallace, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Isaiah Hartenstein and Jaylin Williams met fans on the sidelines to celebrate. Alex Caruso, Aaron Wiggins and Luguentz Dort uncorked champagne bottles on top of the buses.
For fans, this is the culmination of a dream that seemed far off when the team first arrived. Now with a championship title, a new arena being built and a freshly inked agreement between the team and the city, the future is looking bright for one of the youngest squads in the NBA. And they're here for it. Soaking it up as a team.
"This is like family," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "We do everything together. We need each other out there. We want each other out there. We win because we have each other. We lose because of each other… Probably because of me sometimes. But we do everything together. And guess what, guys?
"We won an NBA championship together."
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
