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By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma City Thunder didn’t have a prayer in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
Except that they did — the final score notwithstanding.
Oklahoma City tips off each game with an invocation led by a pastor, rabbi or other religious leader. The Thunder are the only one of the NBA’s 30 franchises with a pregame prayer.
But the focus of the brief quiet moment before fans turn the Paycom Center into Loud City is not winning or losing. After Oklahoma City opened the championship series with a heartbreaking, 111-110 defeat to the Indiana Pacers, perhaps it should be.
“I have never publicly prayed for the Thunder to win,” said Michael Milligan, the pastor who offered the blessing Thursday night. “For the assembled 18,000, that’s pretty understood, if you know what I mean.
“But when I pray, I typically try to stress that there’s a God who loves us and wants us to love one another,” he added. “I just want to make sure that I’m communicating spiritual truths and God’s love in 20 seconds. That can be a challenge.”
Milligan leads the pastoral care ministry of the Crossings Community Church in Oklahoma City. He spends his days visiting hospitals and nursing homes and — as he explains — “doing a fair number of funerals.”
But a few times each year — including at the season’s biggest game so far — the devoted Thunder fan stands at center court and lifts his voice toward heaven.
Clergy members who give the invocation receive two free tickets and a parking pass — an especially nice perk for the NBA Finals, when prices can top hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
This column appears in the online magazine Religion Unplugged.
Photo by Keaton Ross
Faith. Family. Fastballs. 