A championship title is usually where a sports story finds its perfect ending, the confetti falls, the trophy is lifted high, and every setback along the way suddenly feels worth it. For a series like Running Point, you would expect that same feel-good payoff, with the Los Angeles Waves finally reaching the top under Isla Gordon’s (Kate Hudson) leadership after everything she has fought to overcome. After battling doubts about her authority, navigating locker-room egos, and holding the organization together through constant setbacks, a championship should have been the moment where everything finally clicked into place.

But Season 2 refuses to make victory that simple. Even as the Waves chase glory on the court, the real drama unfolds behind the scenes, where player retention struggles, coaching tensions, locker-room conflicts, and organizational betrayal threaten to overshadow the triumph.

By the time the finale arrives, the question is no longer just whether the Waves can win the title, it is whether Isla’s biggest victory on the court will mean anything when the battle for control behind the scenes is far from over. The ending leaves viewers with a much bigger question: did Isla really win?

By the final episodes of Running Point Season 2, Isla finally gets what she has been fighting for all season, the chance to prove she can lead the Los Angeles Waves to a championship. After months of internal turmoil, the team enters the playoffs carrying the weight of unresolved locker-room issues, unstable leadership, and mounting organizational pressure. Yet against all odds, Isla keeps the team focused long enough to reach the finals against Boston, coached by Jay Brown , Isla's former love interest (Jay Ellis).

The road to the championship is anything but smooth. Dyson Gibbs, the Waves’ star player, is emotionally shaken after his breakup with Zoe, and Marcus Winfield, the team’s veteran leader, is sidelined with what appears to be a serious knee injury. Isla is forced to hold the team together emotionally while also making critical strategic decisions that could define the season. One of the finale’s most important moments comes when Isla studies Boston’s weaknesses and realizes that the only way to beat them is by adapting the aggressive game plan Chicago previously used. It is one of the clearest examples of Isla stepping beyond boardroom leadership and actively shaping the team’s success.

The championship victory finally arrives when Marcus makes a dramatic return during the finals, helping the Waves turn the game around and secure the title. On paper, this is Isla’s biggest win, her first championship as president, achieved under immense pressure. It validates every decision she made to keep the team competitive. But the finale makes it clear that while Isla wins the title, the championship does not resolve the deeper conflicts threatening the organization. Instead, it becomes the calm before an even bigger storm.

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But before the team could even reach that championship moment, Isla had to survive a season where keeping the roster and coaching staff intact was almost as difficult as winning games, with every key player and executive decision threatening to destabilize the franchise.

One of Isla’s earliest and biggest challenges is retaining Dyson Gibbs, the team’s rising star, when Magnus “The Butcher” (Tommy Dewey) and the Toronto Trappers aggressively pursue him. Keeping Dyson is more than just a contract negotiation, it becomes a direct test of whether Isla can protect the future of the franchise. Losing him would signal weakness, not just to rival teams but to everyone inside the organization. Isla ultimately succeeds in keeping Dyson, but the battle exposes how vulnerable the Waves are under outside pressure.

The coaching situation adds another layer of instability. When the team needs new leadership courtside, Isla insists on hiring Norm Stinson (Ray Romano), a socially awkward but brilliant basketball strategist. Norm’s arrival improves the team tactically, but his unconventional methods create friction with Marcus Winfield, who feels sidelined as the offense increasingly revolves around Dyson. The tension between coach and veteran star becomes one of the season’s most important locker-room conflicts, threatening to fracture the team right when unity matters most.

These roster and coaching struggles reveal one of the season’s strongest themes: winning games is only one part of running a team; managing personalities is the real challenge. Isla’s leadership is constantly tested, not because she lacks vision, but because every major decision carries emotional consequences. The series does a strong job showing how organizational pressure can affect on-court performance, making the championship run feel earned rather than inevitable.

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Yet even as Isla keeps the team intact, the Waves begin falling apart internally, proving that championships are not won by talent alone, because behind every win is a locker room that can collapse at any moment.

The locker room becomes one of the most unstable parts of the season when Travis Bugg discovers that Dyson Gibbs has started seeing Zoe, Travis' ex, triggering a confrontation that erupts into a physical fight between the two players. The fallout threatens the chemistry Isla has worked hard to preserve, and the conflict arrives at the worst possible time, right as the team is preparing for the postseason. The drama illustrates how fragile the balance inside the Waves has become.

At the same time, Marcus Winfield’s growing resentment toward Norm Stinson creates another challenge for Waves. Feeling ignored and pushed aside as the team prioritizes Dyson, Marcus rebels by disrupting the offensive game plan mid-match, costing the team a crucial game. This storyline is essential because it shows that even the team’s veterans are struggling to trust the new system Isla put in place. If Isla cannot maintain trust between players and coaching staff, the championship run falls apart before it begins.

What makes these locker-room conflicts compelling is that they mirror the organizational instability happening off the court. Just as the players are struggling with trust and loyalty, Isla is dealing with the same issues in the front office. The series effectively uses sports drama to reinforce its larger themes of leadership under pressure, making every locker-room argument feel like a reflection of the team’s fragile foundation.

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And while the team fights to stay united on the court, the biggest threat to the Waves is brewing in the front office, where family betrayal threatens to undo the entire organization before the championship dream can be realized.

While Isla battles roster and locker-room issues, Cam Gordon (Justin Theroux) quietly works to undermine the organization from within. His misuse of company funds, secret relapse into drug use, and attempts to regain influence all place the future of the Waves in jeopardy. The season gradually reveals that Cam’s return was never about helping Isla, it was about reclaiming control. This creates a parallel battle where Isla is trying to save the organization while her own brother is helping destabilize it.

The turning point comes when Jackie Moreno (Fabrizio Guido) secretly records Cam confessing that he used Jackie’s urine to pass a probation drug test, while also exposing the truth about his embezzlement. This moment becomes the season’s biggest organizational victory for Isla. Once the Gordon siblings learn the truth, Cam is removed from the organization, and Isla’s authority as president is finally secured. After an entire season of fighting to prove she belongs in charge, she earns the trust of her family in the most dramatic way possible.

But even this victory comes with consequences. Just when Isla appears to have stabilized the organization and delivered the team a championship, Al Fleischman (Ken Marino) announces the creation of Los Angeles Industry, a rival franchise backed by Cam and coached by Jay Brown. This twist turns Isla’s triumph into the beginning of another war, proving that while she has won the title, the fight for the future of the Waves has only just begun.

Running Point Season 2’s ending shows that Isla’s first championship win is only the beginning of her real battle. While she proves herself by guiding the Los Angeles Waves through player struggles, locker-room tension, and organizational chaos, the rise of Los Angeles Industry makes it clear that one title does not guarantee lasting control. The finale leaves Isla as a champion, but also sets up an even bigger fight for the future of the franchise.

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What did you think of Running Point Season 2’s ending? Let us know in the comments!