YEARENDER - Dodgers and Panthers repeat as Thunder, Inter Miami launch new eras in 2025

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers once again headlined North American sports in 2025, with Shohei Ohtani leading another championship run that defined a year split between repeat winners and first-time title breakthroughs across the major leagues.

Ohtani, the sport’s brightest star, returned to the mound for the first time as a Dodger and hit .282 with 55 home runs and 102 RBIs, earning his fourth Most Valuable Player award.

However, it was the clutch relief pitching of Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the unlikely heroics of Miguel Rojas that proved decisive, as the Dodgers claimed a dramatic Game Seven victory over the Toronto Blue Jays to cap an all-time great Fall Classic.

In the NHL, the Florida Panthers matched the Dodgers with a repeat of their own, capturing back-to-back Stanley Cups by defeating the Edmonton Oilers for the second straight year in front of an ecstatic home crowd in Sunrise, Florida.

With a blend of speed and physicality, the Panthers became the first team to repeat as champions since the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020–21, while extending Canada’s Stanley Cup drought to 32 years. Sam Bennett, who scored 15 goals during the postseason, was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

EAGLES POUND CHIEFS

The year opened with what appeared to be the end of an NFL era, as the Philadelphia Eagles steamrolled the Kansas City Chiefs in February’s Super Bowl in New Orleans.

For years, the Patrick Mahomes-to-Travis Kelce connection had served as the league’s most reliable late-game weapon. Philadelphia dismantled that formula early, applying constant pressure that disrupted Mahomes’ rhythm and turned the contest into a one-sided affair, ending Kansas City’s bid for a historic three-peat.

Basketball’s champion, by contrast, signaled the beginning of a new era.

The Oklahoma City Thunder, led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, captured their first NBA championship with a roster built for sustainability—featuring long defenders, multiple ball-handlers, and elite shooters at every position.

Gilgeous-Alexander, known as “SGA,” showcased patience under pressure and an ability to slice through defenses, becoming one of the defining images of the playoffs as the Thunder defeated the Indiana Pacers in a tense seven-game Finals series.

Oklahoma City’s youth and depth position the franchise to contend for the Larry O’Brien Trophy for years to come.

MESSI REACHES MLS PEAK

Major League Soccer delivered a similar star-driven breakthrough.

Inter Miami, inspired by Lionel Messi, captured the club’s first MLS Cup, validating a bold project designed to attract global attention. The World Cup-winning Argentine provided two late assists in a 3–1 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps in the final.

Messi joined Miami in 2023 with the explicit goal of winning a title for the club, which is co-owned by former England star David Beckham.

“The MLS Cup was the ultimate prize,” Messi said after being named Final MVP. “The team made a tremendous effort and rose to the occasion.”

Taken together, 2025 offered a vivid snapshot of how dynasties are built—and how quickly the narratives of North American sports can change. -Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Ken Ferris/ReutersDodgers World Series win