The Oklahoma City Thunder showed nothing but class as they exited the NBA Finals Thursday night, losing Game 5 in Miami 121-106.

It was an embarrassing defeat for a team that worked so hard all season and just didn’t have it when it mattered most.

Head coach Scott Brooks with time still on the clock gave his team one last speech that summed up what this team and franchise is all about.

You can argue that Brooks should have saved the speech until later, when the game was actually over and not shown the white flag to his players before time had run out even though OKC was not coming back.

But what he said cannot be questioned. It was perfect. He told his players to treat the Heat like champions when the game ended. A real class act.

There has been some news surrounding Brooks and the situation with his contract which is up at the end of June. He and the Thunder still have not reached an agreement on a possible extension.

After seeing this and really even without seeing this speech, it is so clear that Brooks is everything this franchise is about and needs to stay. He may have been outcoached in these Finals but he is so important to what the Thunder organization is trying to build.