Champions Opening Ceremony inside Paycom kicked off parade festivities
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — It was a banner day in the big league city as Oklahoma City celebrated its champions downtown Tuesday morning, and it all kicked off inside the Paycom Center for the Champions Opening Ceremony.
"When they mention the Thunder organization, when they mention Clay Bennett, when they mention Sam Presti, when they mention Mark Daigneault and every single one of you in this arena, they got to mention you as NBA champs!" Aaron Wiggins said Tuesday morning inside the Paycom Center, bringing the crowd to a deafening roar.
We all know Aaron Wiggins saved basketball, but you may not have known that he was a master on the mic as well, as he got the crowd going with some OKC chants too. It was just an appetizer for what was to come for the day. Season ticket holders filled the arena to hear from several players. They all thanked the loud and loyal for being the wind in their sails over the years. They also emphasized team and organization first.
"This is like family,” Shai 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. We do everything together, and guess what, guys, we won a championship together."
You know they didn’t abandon the fun brotherhood they’ve shown all season, too.
"It started with Clay, Sam, and Mark, believing in me enough... to bring me here in the first place,” Chet Holmgren said as he stumbled through a sentence. “Because without them, I'm never really here. All right, let me lock in."
As he said, “All right, let me lock in,” his teammates laughingly took the Larry O’Brien trophy from him after stumbling through his sentence.
"Best in the world, take it away from us, you can't!” Thunder fans screamed outside the arena.
The party didn’t stop when it was over either. The fans were ready to roll for the parade. All of the players appeared as superheroes during the parade, in the eyes of a city that’s faced over a decade of heartbreak. Now, they get to bring the champion trophy home to Oklahoma City, forever.
The season ticket holders in attendance got to take home championship T-shirts that were put on their seats in the Paycom as well.