2012 NBA Finals

2012 basketball championship series February 2024 2012 NBA Finals Logo.jpg NBA 2012 Miami Heat Erik Spoelstra 4 Oklahoma City Thunder Scott Brooks 1 June 12–21 LeBron James(Miami Heat) Heat:Chris Bosh (2021)Dwyane Wade (2023)Officials:Danny Crawford (2025) Heat defeated Celtics, 4–3 Thunder defeated Spurs, 4–2 The 2012 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2011–12 season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. In this best-of-seven series, the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat defeated the Western Conference champion Oklahoma City Thunder in five games, winning their second championship in franchise history. The Heat's LeBron James, who was named the NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the season, was voted the NBA Finals MVP, after averaging 28.6 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 7.4 assists.LeBron James wins Finals MVP https://www.espn.com/nba/playoffs/2012/story/_/id/8083535/2012-nba-finals-lebron-james-wins-mvp-award ESPN.com June 22, 2012 The series started on June 12, and concluded on June 21. This marked Oklahoma City's first NBA Finals appearance since their relocation from Seattle, and their only one until 2025. The win by the Heat earned James his first championship.https://www.nba.com/news/history-top-moments-lebron-james-first-championship-2012 Top Moments: LeBron James wins his first championship in 2012 NBA.com September 14, 2021 August 16, 2023 Background Miami Heat 2011–12 Miami Heat season This was the second consecutive appearance for the Heat, after losing to the Dallas Mavericks in 2011. This was also their second Finals appearance in the "Big Three" era, being led by superstar LeBron James, shooting guard Dwyane Wade, and power forward Chris Bosh.Whitley David Miami Heat's second-straight NBA Finals appearance not enough to remove doubt around LeBron James http://aol.sportingnews.com/nba/story/2012-06-10/miami-heat-nba-finals-lebron-james-dwyane-wade-okc-thunder-celtics Sporting News June 21, 2012 June 10, 2012 Their other Finals appearance was in 2006, when they defeated the Mavericks to win their first NBA title.Pat Riley: The Miami Years https://www.espn.com/nba/playoffs/2012/story/_/id/8072533/pat-riley-miami-heat-years ESPN June 21, 2012 June 21, 2012 In the regular season, the Heat finished with 46 wins, earning the second seed in the Eastern Conference. In the first round, they defeated the New York Knicks 4–1, marking the first time since 1997 that the Heat beat their arch rivals in the postseason. In the next two rounds, the Heat overcame major series deficits that nearly eliminated them from the postseason, but survived thanks to a string of victories. In the Conference semifinals, they defeated the Indiana Pacers 4–2 despite trailing 2–1 and losing Chris Bosh to injury. Then, the Heat survived a grueling Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics, winning 4–3 despite trailing 3–2. The Heat's comeback vs the Celtics was extremely notable thanks to LeBron James’ epic 45 point performance in Game 6, allowing the Heat to win Game 7 at home and advance to the Finals.Hawkins Mark Miami Heat's Road to the 2012 NBA Finals: Fan's Take https://sports.yahoo.com/news/miami-heat-road-2012-nba-finals-fans-061300646--nba.html Yahoo! Sports June 21, 2012 June 11, 2012 The Heat also became the first team since the 1994–95 Houston Rockets to overcome multiple series deficits en route to the finals. Overall, James took over more of the scoring responsibility from Wade in his second season in Miami, as he was rewarded with the NBA regular season's Most Valuable Player. The 2011–2012 Miami Heat included several new players that had not played for the team during its 2011 Finals run, including Shane Battier,Brian Windhorst Shane Battier to sign with Heat https://www.espn.com/nba/truehoop/miamiheat/story/_/id/7330117/memphis-grizzlies-shane-battier-plans-sign-miami-heat ESPN June 21, 2012 December 8, 2011 Eddy Curry,Wallace Michael Eddy Curry signs with Miami Heat https://www.espn.com/nba/truehoop/miamiheat/story/_/id/7339013/slimmed-eddy-curry-signs-hopes-career-revival-miami-heat ESPN June 21, 2012 December 10, 2011 Ronny Turiaf,Ronny Turiaf signs with Heat https://www.espn.com/nba/truehoop/miamiheat/story/_/id/7718396/miami-heat-bolster-depth-sign-veteran-big-man-ronny-turiaf ESPN June 21, 2012 Associated Press March 21, 2012 and rookies Terrel Harris and Norris Cole.Haberstroh Tom The rise and fall of rookie Norris Cole https://www.espn.com/blog/truehoop/miamiheat/post/_/id/13310/the-rise-and-fall-of-rookie-norris-cole ESPN June 21, 2012 April 9, 2012 Oklahoma City Thunder 2011–12 Oklahoma City Thunder season This was the Thunder's first NBA Finals appearance since the team relocated from Seattle to Oklahoma City in 2008. Including their seasons as the Seattle SuperSonics, this was also the club's fourth Finals appearance, and first since 1996, when they lost to the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls. The team was seeking their first NBA championship since 1979. The Thunder finished with 47 wins, placing them as the second seed in the Western Conference. During the playoffs, they defeated the last three Western Conference finalists in sequential order. First, they dethroned the defending champion Dallas Mavericks in a 4–0 first round sweep. Next, they dispatched the Los Angeles Lakers in the conference semifinals 4–1. Then, in the Western Conference finals, they defeated the top seeded San Antonio Spurs 4–2, despite losing the first two games, snapping San Antonio's 20 game winning streak in the process.Hawkins Mark Oklahoma City Thunder's Road to the 2012 NBA Finals: Fan's Take https://sports.yahoo.com/news/oklahoma-city-thunder-road-2012-nba-finals-fans-153800334--nba.html Yahoo! Sports June 21, 2012 June 10, 2012 The Thunder entered the Finals as the second-youngest finalists in NBA history.Sherman Mike NBA Finals: Thunder has overcome much, but it must now overcome doubt http://newsok.com/article/3685491 The Oklahoman June 21, 2012 June 18, 2012 In addition, Daequan Cook faced the team that traded him to the Thunder in 2010. Road to the Finals 2012 NBA playoffs Oklahoma City Thunder (Western Conference champion) Miami Heat (Eastern Conference champion)OKC2nd seed in the West, 3rd best league recordRegular seasonMIA2nd seed in the East, 4th best league recordDefeated the 7th seeded Dallas Mavericks, 4–0First roundDefeated the 7th seeded New York Knicks, 4–1Defeated the 3rd seeded Los Angeles Lakers, 4–1Conference semifinalsDefeated the 3rd seeded Indiana Pacers, 4–2Defeated the 1st seeded San Antonio Spurs, 4–2Conference finalsDefeated the 4th seeded Boston Celtics, 4–3 Regular season series The season series was tied, 1–1, with both teams winning at their home floor. #fff March 25, 2012 2012 0325 MIAOKC Miami Heat 87 Oklahoma City Thunder 103 Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma April 4, 2012 2012 0404 OKCMIA Oklahoma City Thunder 93 Miami Heat 98 American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida Series summary Game Date Road team Result Home team Game 1 June 12 Miami Heat 94–105 (0–1) Oklahoma City Thunder Game 2 June 14 Miami Heat 100–96 (1–1) Oklahoma City Thunder Game 3 June 17 Oklahoma City Thunder 85–91 (1–2) Miami Heat Game 4 June 19 Oklahoma City Thunder 98–104 (1–3) Miami Heat Game 5 June 21 Oklahoma City Thunder 106–121 (1–4) Miami Heat Game summaries All times are in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4)https://www.forbes.com/sites/maurybrown/2012/06/02/bizball-nba-releases-2012-nba-finals-schedule/ Bizball: NBA Releases Finals Schedule Forbes June 5, 2012 Game 1 #eee June 12 9:00 pm Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma ABC Miami Heat 94 Oklahoma City Thunder 105 Oklahoma City leads series, 1–0 Recap 29–22 25–25 19–27 21–31 LeBron James 30 Kevin Durant 36 Udonis Haslem 11 Nick Collison 10 Dwyane Wade 8 Russell Westbrook 11 18,203 No. 13 Monty McCutchen No. 14 Ed Malloy No. 9 Derrick Stafford The Thunder defeated the Heat, 105–94, in Game 1. Miami held the lead for most of the first three quarters, including a 13-point lead at one point during the second quarter. The Heat made five three-pointers to jump to a 29–22 lead by the end of the first quarter, but Oklahoma City kept on pace with Miami to keep the score at 54–47 by halftime. The Thunder then took the lead for good with 16 seconds left in the third quarter after Russell Westbrook made a free throw to make it 74–73. Kevin Durant led Oklahoma City with 36 points, while Westbrook had 27. LeBron James led the Heat with 30 points, but was held to one basket during the first eight minutes of the fourth quarter.http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=320612025 https://web.archive.org/web/20120613043533/http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=320612025 dead June 13, 2012 Kevin Durant, Thunder pull away from Heat, win Game 1 Associated Press ESPN June 12, 2012 June 12, 2012 Game 2 #eee June 14 9:00 pm Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma ABC Miami Heat 100 Oklahoma City Thunder 96 Recap 27–15 28–28 23–24 22–29 LeBron James 32 Kevin Durant 32 Chris Bosh 15 Perkins, Westbrook 8 each James, Wade 5 each Russell Westbrook 7 18,203 No. 43 Dan Crawford No. 25 Tony Brothers No. 49 Tom Washington Series tied, 1–1 The Heat defeated the Thunder 100–96 in Game 2, tying the series at one game a piece and giving the Thunder their first home playoff loss of the season. Miami never trailed, building a 27–15 first quarter lead, and holding a 17-point advantage at one point. The Thunder attempted a comeback in the fourth quarter, and with 37 seconds left in the game, Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant made a three-pointer to cut the deficit, 98–96. Durant would miss a game-tying jumper in the closing seconds as Miami held off Oklahoma City for the Game 2 win. The play did not come without controversy however as many observers had felt that James had fouled Durant on the right hip during the shot, a potential sixth foul that would have taken the Heat superstar out of the game in the process.https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/nba-finals-heat-thunder-game-2-video-the-controversial-ending-to-a-classic-game-2 NBA Finals Heat-Thunder Game 2 Video: The controversial ending to a classic Game 2 LeBron James led the Heat with 32 points, while Durant scored 32 of his own to lead the Thunder.http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=320614025 https://web.archive.org/web/20120615080404/http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=320614025 dead June 15, 2012 LeBron James, Heat hold off Thunder, knot NBA Finals at 1–1 Associated Press ESPN June 14, 2012 June 14, 2012 Game 3 #eee June 17 8:00 pm American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida ABC Oklahoma City Thunder 85 Miami Heat 91 Recap 20–26 26–21 21–22 18–22 Kevin Durant 25 LeBron James 29 Kendrick Perkins 12 LeBron James 14 James Harden 6 Dwyane Wade 7 20,003 No. 17 Joe Crawford No. 19 James Capers No. 41 Ken Mauer Miami leads series, 2–1 Miami won Game 3, 91–85, to go up two games to one in the series. Miami had a slim 47–46 halftime lead before Oklahoma City began the third quarter with a 10–4 run, eventually building a 10-point lead midway through the period. However, Miami scored the last seven points in the third quarter to regain the lead at 69–67. With 7:36 remaining in the game, the Thunder came back to retake the lead at 77–76, but the Heat then scored eight unanswered points to build an 84–77 advantage with 3:47 left. A 6–0 run by Oklahoma City pulled them within one point of Miami with 90 seconds left, but the Thunder could not score again for the rest of the game while the Heat made five insurance free throws. LeBron James led the Heat with 29 points and 14 rebounds, while Kevin Durant scored 25 points to lead the Thunder.http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=320617014 https://web.archive.org/web/20120619210232/http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=320617014 dead June 19, 2012 LeBron James leads way with 29 points, 14 boards as Heat go up 2–1 Associated Press ESPN June 17, 2012 June 17, 2012 Game 4 #eee June 19 9:00 pm American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida ABC Oklahoma City Thunder 98 Miami Heat 104 Recap 33–19 16–27 26–33 23–25 Russell Westbrook 43 LeBron James 26 James Harden 10 Bosh, James 9 each Russell Westbrook 5 LeBron James 12 20,003 No. 48 Scott Foster No. 24 Mike Callahan No. 55 Bill Kennedy Miami leads series, 3–1 Miami won Game 4, 104–98, to go up three games to one in the series. The Thunder jumped to a 33–19 lead by the end the first quarter, but the Heat rallied to cut the score to 49–46 at halftime, thanks to two huge three-pointers by Heat rookie Norris Cole. The two teams remained neck-and-neck throughout most of the third quarter, with Miami holding a 4-point lead at the start of fourth period. However, for the final 16 minutes of the game, Russell Westbrook (who led the Thunder with 43 points) and Kevin Durant (who had 28 points) were the only two Oklahoma City players able to score. With the other Thunder players struggling to make their shots, Miami was able to pull away in the end, largely thanks to late-game heroics from LeBron James, Mario Chalmers and Dwyane Wade. LeBron James led the Heat with 26 points, including the go ahead three pointer, but had to sit out during the final two minutes of the game due to leg cramps.http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=320619014 https://web.archive.org/web/20120622040630/http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=320619014 dead June 22, 2012 Heat overcome Russell Westbrook's 43 points, take 3–1 Finals lead Associated Press ESPN June 19, 2012 June 19, 2012 Mario Chalmers scored 25 points and made two key plays to seal Miami's win: a driving layup around a well-positioned Serge Ibaka and two free throws after a rare mistake by Westbrook (he fouled Chalmers after the point guard recovered Shane Battier's tip on a jump ball with less than 1 minute left, thinking that the shot clock would reset, while NBA rules do not reset at that point in a 4th quarter if the team that previously had the ball re-gains possession off the tip). Game 5 #eee June 21 9:00 pm American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida ABC Oklahoma City Thunder 106 Miami Heat 121 Recap 26–31 23–28 22–36 35–26 Kevin Durant 32 LeBron James 26 Kevin Durant 11 LeBron James 11 Russell Westbrook 6 LeBron James 13 20,003 No. 43 Dan Crawford No. 13 Monty McCutchen No. 9 Derrick Stafford Miami wins NBA Finals, 4–1 Miami won Game 5, 121–106, to win the series, four games to one.LeBron James, Heat dominate Thunder to win NBA championship http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=320621014 https://web.archive.org/web/20120622051101/http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=320621014 dead June 22, 2012 June 22, 2012 ESPN After keeping it a close game in the first half, the Thunder were outscored 36–22 in the third quarter, with Miami leading as much as 27 at one point. Miami was fueled by strong performances by their "Big Three" of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh, as well as by Mike Miller, who was 7 for 8 for three-pointers, ending the night with 23 points. Miller only entered the game because Wade encountered foul trouble in the first half, with Coach Erik Spoelstra telling the variously injured veteran the Heat just needed him to hold the fort until the 2nd quarter began; when Miller hit two three-pointers, Spoelstra asked him if he could keep playing and Miller said yes, leading to 23 minutes on the court that were critical in blowing the game open for Miami. The team tied an NBA Finals record for most 3-pointers in a game with 14. With three minutes remaining in the game, both teams took their starters out of the game, with the Heat still leading by more than 20 points. With their Game 5 win, the Heat won their second NBA championship in team history, and the first for several Heat players, including James, who was named the NBA Finals MVP after averaging 28.6 points, 10.2 rebounds and 7.4 assists in the finals, capping it all off with his first triple double of the season in the final game. For the Thunder, Kevin Durant had 32 points, and 11 rebounds; Russell Westbrook had 19 points and 6 assists; and James Harden led the bench with 19 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds. Rosters Miami Heat Miami Heat 2011–12 50 Joel Anthony F/C 6 9 245 UNLV 1982–08–09 31 Shane Battier F 6 8 220 Duke 1978–09–09 1 Chris Bosh F 6 11 235 Georgia Tech 1984–03–24 15 Mario Chalmers G 6 2 190 Kansas 1986–05–19 30 Norris Cole basketball G 6 2 170 Cleveland State 1988–10–13 34 Eddy Curry C 7 0 295 Thornwood HS (IL) 1982–12–05 14 Terrel Harris G 6 5 190 Oklahoma State 1987–08–10 40 Udonis Haslem F/C 6 8 235 Florida 1980–06–09 5 Juwan Howard F 6 9 250 Michigan 1973–02–07 6 LeBron James F 6 8 250 St. Vincent–St. Mary HS (OH) 1984–12–30 22 James Jones basketball, born 1980 F 6 8 215 University of Miami 1980–10–04 13 Mike Miller basketball, born 1980 F 6 8 218 Florida 1980–02–19 45 Dexter Pittman C 6 11 285 Texas 1988–03–02 21 Ronny Turiaf F/C 6 10 246 Gonzaga 1983–01–13 3 Dwyane Wade G 6 4 220 Marquette 1982–01–17 Erik Spoelstra Bob McAdoo Keith Askins Ron Rothstein David Fizdale Chad Kammerer Octavio De La Grana (DL) On assignment to D-League affiliate Oklahoma City Thunder Oklahoma City Thunder 2011–12 45 Cole Aldrich C 6 11 245 Kansas 1988–10–31 4 Nick Collison F/C 6 10 255 Kansas 1980–10–26 14 Daequan Cook G 6 5 210 Ohio State 1987–04–28 35 Kevin Durant G/F 6 9 230 Texas 1988–09–29 37 Derek Fisher G 6 1 210 Arkansas-Little Rock 1974–08–09 13 James Harden G 6 5 220 Arizona State 1989–08–26 11 Lazar Hayward F 6 6 225 Marquette 1986–11–26 9 Serge Ibaka F 6 10 235 Republic of the Congo 1989–09–18 7 Royal Ivey G 6 4 215 Texas 1981–12–20 15 Reggie Jackson basketball, born 1990 G 6 3 208 Boston College 1990–04–16 6 Eric Maynor G 6 3 175 Virginia Commonwealth 1987–06–11 8 Nazr Mohammed C 6 10 250 Kentucky 1977–09–05 5 Kendrick Perkins C 6 10 267 Clifton J. Ozen HS (TX) 1984–11–10 2 Thabo Sefolosha G/F 6 7 215 Switzerland 1984–05–02 0 Russell Westbrook G 6 3 187 UCLA 1988–11–12 Scott Brooks Mark Bryant Maurice Cheeks Rex Kalamian Brian Keefe Maz Trakh (DL) On assignment to D-League affiliate Player statistics Miami Heat Miami Heat 2011–12 |- | align="left" | Joel Anthony || 1 || 0 || 2.1 || .000 || .000 || .000 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 |- | align="left" | Shane Battier || 5 || 5 || 37.5 || .613 || .577 || .714 || 3.4 || 0.4 || 0.8 || 0.0 || 11.6 |- | align="left" | Chris Bosh || 5 || 4 || 36.6 || .452 || .400 || .882 || 9.4 || 0.2 || 0.6 || 1.2 || 14.6 |- | align="left" | Mario Chalmers || 5 || 5 || 36.5 || .442 || .348 || .857 || 2.6 || 4.0 || 1.8 || 0.4 || 10.4 |- | align="left" | Norris Cole basketball || 4 || 0 || 11.0 || .333 || .429 || .000 || 1.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 3.3 |- | align="left" | Terrel Harris || 1 || 0 || 3.0 || .000 || .000 || .750 || 1.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 3.0 |- | align="left" | Udonis Haslem || 5 || 1 || 16.3 || .400 || .000 || .833 || 4.4 || 0.4 || 0.0 || 0.4 || 2.6 |- | align="left" | Juwan Howard || 1 || 0 || 3.0 || .000 || .000 || .000 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 |-! style="background:#FDE910;" | align="left" | LeBron James || 5 || 5 || 44.1 || .472 || .188 || .826 || 10.2 || 7.4 || 1.6 || 0.4 || 28.6 |- | align="left" | James Jones basketball, born 1980 || 4 || 0 || 10.7 || .500 || .400 || 1.000 || 1.5 || 0.0 || 0.3 || 0.0 || 2.8 |- | align="left" | Mike Miller basketball, born 1980 || 5 || 0 || 8.9 || .563 || .636 || 1.000 || 1.8 || 0.4 || 0.2 || 0.2 || 6.2 |- | align="left" | Ronny Turiaf || 1 || 0 || 3.0 || .000 || .000 || .000 || 1.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 |- | align="left" | Dwyane Wade || 5 || 5 || 40.6 || .435 || .400 || .775 || 6.0 || 5.2 || 1.4 || 1.2 || 22.6 Oklahoma City Thunder Oklahoma City Thunder 2011–12 |- | align="left" | Cole Aldrich || 1 || 0 || 4.7 || 1.000 || .000 || .000 || 1.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 2.0 |- | align="left" | Nick Collison || 5 || 0 || 16.6 || .600 || .000 || .000 || 4.6 || 0.6 || 0.6 || 0.2 || 3.6 |- | align="left" | Daequan Cook || 3 || 0 || 3.5 || .333 || .000 || .000 || 0.0 || 0.3 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.7 |- | align="left" | Kevin Durant || 5 || 5 || 42.6 || .548 || .394 || .839 || 6.0 || 2.2 || 1.4 || 1.0 || 30.6 |- | align="left" | Derek Fisher || 5 || 0 || 25.6 || .423 || .357 || 1.000 || 1.6 || 0.8 || 1.0 || 0.0 || 5.6 |- | align="left" | James Harden || 5 || 0 || 32.8 || .375 || .318 || .792 || 4.8 || 3.6 || 1.2 || 0.0 || 12.4 |- | align="left" | Lazar Hayward || 1 || 0 || 4.7 || .500 || .000 || .000 || 2.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 2.0 |- | align="left" | Serge Ibaka || 5 || 5 || 26.3 || .424 || .000 || .636 || 5.2 || 0.8 || 0.4 || 2.0 || 7.0 |- | align="left" | Royal Ivey || 1 || 0 || 3.0 || 1.000 || 1.000 || .000 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 6.0 |- | align="left" | Kendrick Perkins || 5 || 5 || 23.2 || .429 || .000 || .750 || 6.8 || 0.0 || 0.2 || 0.6 || 4.8 |- | align="left" | Thabo Sefolosha || 5 || 5 || 25.9 || .296 || .182 || .833 || 2.0 || 1.0 || 1.4 || 0.8 || 4.6 |- | align="left" | Russell Westbrook || 5 || 5 || 42.3 || .433 || .136 || .824 || 6.4 || 6.6 || 1.0 || 0.4 || 27.0 Broadcast In the United States, the NBA Finals aired on ABC and Mike Breen and Jeff Van Gundy served as commentators. Local ABC stations for the competing teams were WPLG (Miami) and KOCO-TV (Oklahoma City). ESPN Radio aired it as well and had Jim Durham, Jack Ramsay and Hubie Brown as commentators.Kondolojy Amanda NBA Finals Tip Off Tuesday on ABC & ESPN Radio http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/06/10/nba-finals-tip-off-tuesday-on-abc-espn-radio/137421/ https://web.archive.org/web/20120614013610/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/06/10/nba-finals-tip-off-tuesday-on-abc-espn-radio/137421/ dead June 14, 2012 TVbytheNumbers June 22, 2012 June 10, 2012 Game Ratings(households) Share(households) American audience(in millions) 1http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/06/19/tv-ratings-broadcast-top-25-nba-finals-top-week-39-viewing/138649/ https://web.archive.org/web/20120624093446/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/06/19/tv-ratings-broadcast-top-25-nba-finals-top-week-39-viewing/138649/ dead June 24, 2012 TV Ratings Broadcast Top 25: NBA Finals Top Week 39 Viewing TVbytheNumbers June 19, 2012 June 21, 2012 Kondolojy Amanda 9.9 16 16.195 2 10.4 18 16.670 3 8.8 15 15.549 4http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/06/26/tv-ratings-broadcast-top-25-nba-finals-top-week-40-viewing/139226/ https://web.archive.org/web/20120701021306/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/06/26/tv-ratings-broadcast-top-25-nba-finals-top-week-40-viewing/139226/ dead July 1, 2012 TV Ratings Broadcast Top 25: NBA Finals Top Week 40 Viewing TVbytheNumbers June 26, 2012 June 26, 2012 Bibel Sarah 10.5 17 17.4555 10.9 18 18.461 Aftermath 200px|thumb|upright|Harden with the Rockets in 2012 After failing to agree on a contract extension with the Thunder, James Harden was traded to the Houston Rockets on October 27, 2012, along with Daequan Cook, Cole Aldrich and Lazar Hayward, in exchange for Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb, two first-round picks (which became Steven Adams in 2013 and Mitch McGary in 2014), and a second-round pick (which became Álex Abrines in 2013). This move for the Thunder proved to be a mistake in hindsight, as Harden would go on to become an MVP-caliber player in Houston, winning the award in 2018 and coming in second three times.Thunder ship star sixth man Harden to Rockets https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/8562868/oklahoma-city-thunder-trade-james-harden-houston-rockets ESPN.com 20 June 2025 en 28 October 2012 The Thunder, however, did receive Steven Adams in the deal, who became a fixture at center for the team for a number of years. Harden's Rockets later defeated OKC in the playoffs in 2017 and 2020. The Oklahoma City dynasty many fans and NBA analysts predicted did not end up coming true. They would win 60 games the following season, but a Russell Westbrook knee injury caused their season to stall in an upset to the Memphis Grizzlies in the second round.Thunder's Westbrook to have knee surgery https://www.espn.com/nba/playoffs/2013/story/_/id/9214995/russell-westbrook-oklahoma-city-thunder-knee-surgery ESPN.com 20 June 2025 en 26 April 2013 The core's last opportunity at a championship was in the 2016 playoffs. That year, the Thunder took a 3 games to 1 series lead on the 73-win Golden State Warriors. However, they could not finish the job and lost the next three games, in what is considered one of the best non-Finals series in NBA history.Aschburner Steve 10 memorable NBA games from last 25 years NBA.com https://www.nba.com/news/10-best-games-of-last-25-years-nba NBA 20 June 2025 en Following the defeat, Kevin Durant left the team for the Warriors in free agency a month later, which essentially ended their championship window with the Westbrook-Durant-Harden-Ibaka core. The Thunder would not seriously contend for a championship until the next decade. Kevin Durant and LeBron James faced each other twice more in the Finals in the decade, although both players were on different teams. Durant and the Warriors defeated James' Cavaliers in 2017 and 2018, going a cumulative 8–1 in both series. The Thunder retooled in following years after losing Russell Westbrook in a 2019 trade. They would acquire several prospects, including future MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, defensive specialist Luguentz Dort, and future All-Stars Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren. Eventually, they defeated the Indiana Pacers in the 2025 NBA Finals to win their first championship since moving to Oklahoma City from Seattle. References 30em External links Official website of the 2012 NBA Finals 2012 NBA Finals at ESPN 2012 NBA Finals at Basketball-Reference.com Sports Category:NBA Finals Finals NBA Finals NBA Finals Category:2010s in Miami NBA Finals Category:Sports competitions in Miami NBA Finals NBA Finals Category:June 2012 sports events in the United States Category:ABS-CBN television specials