Small Markets. Big Stage.

The OKC Thunder and Indiana Pacers are your 2 teams in the 2025 NBA finals. The Indiana Pacers have not won an NBA title since their existence, and the last time the OKC Thunder won, they did it as the Seattle Supersonics in 1979. So whoever wins this Championship will essentially be getting their first, and a different Champion will be crowned for the 8th straight year: Something that has never happened in the history of this league.

So now let's get to the two teams. We begin with OKC. A team led by the MVP that steamrolled through the regular season, winning 68 games and losing one game vs the East all year. They were 29-1 vs the opposite conference, and that one loss came early in the year to a Cavs team that was red hot. Despite their regular-season dominance, pundits and fans questioned if they were too young for the bright lights in the playoffs. At certain moments, it seemed like their inexperience was going to get the best of them, especially early in the series against Denver as they went down 2-1, losing both games in the clutch. However, they grew up quickly and won games 4 and 5 that also came down to the wire, which ultimately won them the series. The Denver series helped this team find a new level, and now they look unbeatable as they disregarded a very good Timber Wolves team in 5 games, with them winning the closeout game by 30. And here they sit at a chance to do something that wasn't even done during the KD-Russ-Harden Era: Bring home a championship.

The Pacers' story was not as smooth in terms of regular-season success. The Pacers started the season 10-15 in their first 25. However, they finished the season with a 40-17 record and the 4 seed in the West. Then came the postseason. This team did not look like the average 4 seed. They won the first round in 5 games vs Giannis and the Bucks, then beat the top-seeded Cavs in 5, and beat the Knicks in 6. So they enter the Finals with a 12-4 record, which is the same as OKC. The Pacers win games when they are not supposed to. The Pacers won 3 games this postseason alone when they were trailing by 7+ with a minute left. Before them, a comeback like that was successful only once. They did it 3 times! This team somehow finds a way to win games they have no business winning, and part of the reason is that their star, Tyrese Haliburton, has been incredible in the clutch. He is 12 of 14 in the clutch under 2 minutes in the 2024-2025 season. They feel like a team of destiny.

Now to the matchup itself. OKC has employed the best defense all year because of the terrific perimeter defense from Caruso, Wallace, Dort, SGA, and the Pacers have thrived off of guard play with Haliburton being the head of the snake, but they have done it largely by committee with most of the success coming from the guard position which brings me to my next point. If the Pacers have any shot at pulling off the upset in the finals, the guy that must show up this series has to be who won the Eastern Conference Finals MVP: Pascal Siakam. As I mentioned earlier, the Thunder are perfectly equipped to handle guards. However, Pascal Siakam is a 6'8 power forward who has nice handles, a good drive to the basket, and can shoot the ball well. OKC hasn't faced someone like this yet in the playoffs. They've faced a tremendous Center in Jokic, and the combo of Holgrem and Hartenstein did a fairly

Good job on him in all series, and the other 2 series, they faced great guard-driven teams in the likes of Memphis and Minnesota, who were led by Ja Morant and Anthony Edwards, respectively. Though Indiana is led by Haliburton, Siakam was arguably their best player in the series vs the Knicks, and his skillset presents some unique challenges for OKC. He may be too quick for guys like Holmgren and Hartenstein to guard and maybe too big for the guys on the Thunder perimeter. Does that mean Siakam is gonna dominate and carry the Pacers to victory? Not, but it is worth noting that Siakam does present a different challenge for OKC. With all that being said, OKC is still the overwhelming favorite in these finals. If both teams bring their A game, OKC wins this game in 5 or 6. The only chance the Pacers have to stay competitive this season is to win the clutch games like they have been doing all postseason, and Siakam has to be great, as mentioned above.

The Finals begin June 5, and we'll see how it plays out!