The final stretch of any season is where legacies are made. Whether you’re an athlete heading into the back half of the season, a coach preparing your team for a championship run, or just someone chasing peak performance, how you prepare in the weeks leading up to finals can change the outcome of your season.
The Oklahoma City Thunder’s 2025 NBA Championship was a masterclass in preparation, resilience and execution. Their journey offers invaluable insights for athletes gearing up for their own finals runs. Continue reading to find the 10 most powerful strategies you can apply to your own championship run.
1. Prioritise Speed and Power in the Gym
As the intensity ramps up, so should your training focus. Trade long, grind heavy lifts for short sharp speed and power focused sessions. Think olympic lifts, explosive compound lifts, med ball throws, plyometrics and explosive accessory movements. Teams like to tailor their playoffs S&C to emphasize these exact things, this includes using a high-low split which involves compound movements on game/practice days and accessories on off days to allow for CNS recovery.
2. Double Down on Recovery
Finals prep isn’t about working harder, it’s about working smarter. Good sleep, nutrition and hydration are the big rocks when it comes to recovery however cryotherapy, sauna, massage and compression are the 1% that increase you from finals to champions. OKC were reported to have tripled their recovery touchpoints during their playoff run understanding that availability is your best ability.
3. Load Management with Precision
The use of GPS data, RPE feedback or simple session monitoring to balance intensity and volume. OKC’s staff were praised for their ability to manage each athlete based on their game by game and practice by practice. This allowed players to be fresh for each game,
Learn our simple guide for load management by reading one of our previous blogs here.
4. Watch More Film
One trait every championship team shares is obsessive attention to detail. It was reported that SGA was watching 2-3 hours of film each day, not just on opponents but also on his own decision making and movement patterns. If you want that competitive edge, that’s the way to do it.
5. Find Ways to Switch Off
Burnout ruins finals and your CNS. Schedule times where you can mentally reset, whether it’s golf, surfing, reading or simply hanging out with friends. Thunder players were encouraged to do anything but think about basketball in the times where they were not training, playing or watching film. This kept them grounded in high-pressure moments.
6. Get Extra Reps in
Finals are decided by clutch execution. Whether it’s free throws, corner threes, goal kicking or ground ball pickups, your skill needs to be on point. Schedule extra reps in doing off times. Even if this is 10-15 mins daily, that can create a sharp edge and increase confidence.
7. Communicate Like a Pro
OKC’s locker room was described as a “player-led, staff-supported environment”. That culture of open intentional communication allowed faster on-court adjustments and fewer mistakes. As you prep for finals, have honest conversations about roles, expectations and what each player needs to do for the team to succeed.
8. Simulate Pressure
In training, recreate high-stakes citations: final shots, time on the clock scenarios, goal line defence. Dealing with pressure is a skill, the more you expose yourself to it, the more composed you’ll be when that moment arrives. OKC’s clutch performance wasn’t luck, it was rehearsed over and over and over until it was second nature.
9. Get Obsessed with the Details
From screening angles to footwork to your pre-game meal, the top team sweat the smallest things. It’s the 1%ers that separate the good from great. In OKC’s film sessions, every possession was reviewed, every habit, every piece of body language. Everything was reviewed in order to maximise their chances of success.
10. Remember your WHY
In the hype of the finals, it’s easy to get caught up in everything going on. Reconnect with your purpose, why do you play? What does it mean to you?
Thunder Coach Mark Daigneault reminded players everyday of their personal motivations, their WHY. This anchored their performance in meaning, not pressure.
11. Bonus Tip: Having the Game on Your Terms
In a high-stakes environment like the NBA Finals, it’s easier to get caught up in it all and try and play as fast as possible. The Thunder played with their own consistent pace and composure which led to each game, quarter and possession being on their terms. Thunder Coach Mark Daigneult summed this up best when he said “The guys did a great job just taking a possession at a time, stacking them up, and running through the game”.
Final Thoughts
OKC aren’t the youngest team since 1977 by accident, everything was done with a purpose. Training and preparing smarter, training with intent and playing for the people around them. If you’re heading down your own finals campaign, take these tips on board and you could be a winner too.
References:
American sports – AMERICAN SPORT HISTORY. (2025). From postgame barking to ‘the boring stuff’: How the Thunder built a winning culture – American sports. Available at: https://americansportshistory.com/2025/01/16/from-postgame-barking-to-the-boring-stuff-how-the-thunder-built-a-winning-culture/
Erikas Polockas (2025). Thunder’s secret weapon? A locker room where every voice counts – TalkBasket.net. TalkBasket.net. Available at: https://www.talkbasket.net/198489-thunders-secret-weapon-a-locker-room-where-every-voice-counts
Powell, S. (2025). Thunder turning belief in bench into playoff advantage. NBA. Available at: https://www.nba.com/news/oklahoma-city-thunder-bench-playoffs
Robbie Hodin (2025). The Thunder and Pacers making the NBA Finals should change how teams think about roster building. SBNation.com. Available at: https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2025/6/5/24443328/2025-nba-finals-thunder-vs-pacers-depth-defense-injuries
Schuhmann, J. (2025). Finals Film Study: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander becomes a screener in Game 4. NBA. Available at: https://www.nba.com/news/finals-film-study-thunder-pacers-game-4
TalkBasket.net (2025). Mark Daigneault on Game 4: ‘It was just a brawl from the jump’ – TalkBasket.net. TalkBasket.net. Available at: https://www.talkbasket.net/197731-mark-daigneault-on-game-4-it-was-just-a-brawl-from-the-jump
Toxigon (2025). Thunder’s Offseason Primer: The NBA Champion with the Brightest Future. Toxigon. Available at: https://toxigon.com/thunder-offseason-primer-the-nba-champion-with-the-brightest-future