NBA Championship Deep Dive Series

What this series does

NBA Championship Deep Dive is a long-form column: each feature is roughly 3,000 words and breaks down one team's title run. It complements the list and rules hubs — the list tells you who won, the rules explain how the winner is picked, and this column answers the harder question: how did they actually win it.

Every piece is built around three layers:

• The engine: who initiates the offence and who has the ball with the game on the line.
• Roster logic: how the role players fit, and how rotations and matchups were managed.
• The turning point: which game, and sometimes which single possession, swung the series.

Published so far

• 2026 New York Knicks: the end of a 53-year wait, with Jalen Brunson leading the way and taking Finals MVP.
• 2025 Oklahoma City Thunder: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander swept regular-season MVP and Finals MVP as a young core reached the summit.

The column keeps growing — every new champion gets its own deep dive.