“YouTube Tutorial How to Pop Champagne”: Isaiah Hartenstein Sheds More Light On OKC’s Awkward Celebration

The Oklahoma City Thunder are cute. Sure, they won the NBA title behind a relentlessly suffocating defense and the surgical mid-range precision of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but once you watch one postgame interview where they all crowd around the mic with big smiles, we will all end up in agreement.

Even after winning the NBA title, their first since moving to OKC in 2008, the precocious Thunder couldn’t help but give off the same vibes as a tiny puppy trying to reach a water bowl that’s too high. That’s because, with the exception of Alex Caruso who won the 2020 title with the Lakers, nobody on the team had any idea how to pop the champagne in the locker room afterwards.

The Thunder made use of a lot of homegrown talent this year, but what really put them over the top was their offseason moves. Trading Josh Giddey, who struggled in the 2024 playoffs for Caruso, was huge, as was signing Isaiah Hartenstein to complement Chet Holmgren in the frontcourt.

Hartenstein appeared on the latest episode of Podcast P with Paul George, and he shed some light on just how bad the champagne celebration after winning the title really was.

“Our celebration afterwards wasn’t great,” Hartenstein confessed. “We had to learn how to pop champagne. We were really just standing there, just like looking at each other like, ‘What are we supposed to do now?’ And then we all just looked at [Caruso], ’cause some guys never drank in their life,’ it was their first time drinking.”

NBA players are known to party, but perhaps the reason the Thunder won the title is that they were so focused on basketball. Still, it’s hilarious to think that this team was so young that they had no idea what to do in this moment. As the saying goes, ‘I remember my first beer.’

Hartenstein continued, “We were all just huddled around A.C. as he’s giving us a YouTube tutorial on how to pop champagne. They were all doing it at random times, so we might have had the worst champagne party of all. We’re ready for hopefully next year, that we can redeem ourself, but it was definitely terrible.”

This is a heartwarming story, but just like this year’s Thunder squad, underneath all that cuteness is a terrifying warning to the rest of the NBA. OKC isn’t going to be content with just one title, and Sam Presti has them set up to contend for years to come now that SGA, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren have all been locked up long-term.

The best way to improve at basketball is to practice, and the same holds true for popping champagne. The Thunder are going to want another shot at it, so the league better watch out.