The Indiana Pacers might’ve come heartbreakingly close to winning the NBA championship, but the Indiana Fever? They actually got to pop the champagne! The Fever ended up winning their first WNBA Commissioner’s Cup after convincingly beating the best team in the league, the Minnesota Lynx. And the celebrations that followed? Absolutely electric! And why not? They earned every bit of it.
When you are down 13 against the Minnesota Lynx while also playing without Caitlin Clark—nobody gives you a chance. But the Fever wasn’t going to just sit and watch. Natasha Howard dropped an MVP-worthy performance, scoring 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 assists to lead the team from the front and complete the comeback. Howard was ably supported by Cunningham, Mitchell, Boston, and McDonald, who both ended up with double-digit scores. It was a complete team performance.
This win has the potential to turn the season around for the Fever. Sydney Colson, who has now won the Cup twice, is certainly adamant about it! “I made it clear (before the game) we need to have a turning point in our season,” Colson said. Fever, who has a record of 8-8 to start this season, will certainly hope this win helps them get results consistently.
But last night wasn’t about looking ahead! It was all about living in the moment. And the Fever did just that. The energy was electric, and the fans loved every moment of it. The whole celebration had so much energy that and one fan even said, “the videos of the Fever celebrating the Commissioner’s Cup are wayyyy more fun than the Thunder winning the chip. lol.”
the videos of the Fever celebrating the Commissioner’s Cup are wayyyy more fun than the Thunder winning the chip. lol.
— LSM (@iamlaurenmiles) July 2, 2025
They weren’t the only ones who thought the Thunder’s celebration after their first championship couldn’t hold a candle to the Fever’s wild Commissioner’s Cup party. Social media was filled with such takes. So, let’s take a look at a few of those reactions.
Fans react to the Indiana Fever celebrations after the win
Those scenes inside the visitors’ locker room of the Target Center were certainly a sight to behold. “It’s fun,” Lexie Hull said of the celebration. “We worked really hard to get here, and I’m happy we’re able to celebrate that win together in a room like that.” And you could tell that just by looking at the celebrations.
“A group of young women in their primes, being care-free and celebrating a hard-fought win and a bag of prize money! One thing about confident women….. WE SHINE and it’s glorious to behold” one fan commented by looking at their celebrations. The Fever was more than ready for the party. The locker room was draped in a clear tarp, and it had everything you could possibly need for a party!
From buckets of Champagne to buckets of Nutrl vodka seltzers, it had all! Champagne bottles were popped one after the other, and vodka seltzers were chugged from the Commissioner’s Cup itself! It was a wild night, and the fans got a front-row seat to all the action, thanks to Sydney Colson’s live on Instagram. The Fever made sure to celebrate the whole moment with the fans!
But when the OKC Thunder won their championship, fans felt the celebrations didn’t quite hit the same note. “Yep, said the same thing last night. Fever knew how to celebrate whereas OKC was subdued,” while another joined in to say, “Thunder was trying too hard to be nonchalant and chill.”
Of course, you can’t exactly chug anything from the Larry O’Brien trophy, but the Thunder’s post–Game 7 celebration did feel a bit down. And honestly? They weren’t wrong. Per The Athletic’s Marcus Thompson, the Thunder’s locker room celebration was “the most tempered” he had ever seen. From the start, it was clear the guys were a little… inexperienced when it came to post-championship shenanigans. Isaiah Hartenstein even said after the game that team vet Alex Caruso had to literally show the younger players how to open their champagne bottles. Talk about a first-timer moment!
Perhaps it had a lot to do with the fact that their locker room was already filled with so many journalists and cameramen, the players barely had any room to celebrate. OKC players also didn’t interact much with the fans during the locker room celebrations, which could also be another reason.
That said, not everyone saw it as a negative. One fan came to OKC’s defense, saying, “They’re smart enough to keep cameras out of a good time. You can have more fun when no one is looking. I’m certainly not gonna party in a damn locker room lol.” Honestly, they have a point! Sometimes the best celebrations happen off-camera, away from the spotlight. Not saying one is better than the other—but fans definitely noticed who knew how to throw a party.
But what do you think? Do you prefer the wild, public celebrations of the Indiana Fever or the private ones shared just between teammates like the OKC? Let us know in the comments!
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