The 2025 NBA playoffs have been ones to remember with shock results, historical big comebacks and the traditional heavyweights struggling.
And at the end of a thrilling postseason, it is two teams with vastly different stories in the Finals.
The Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers will face off in the best-of-seven series for the Larry O’Brien Trophy and the chance to lift aloft a championship banner in their home arena.
David vs. Goliath?
The Thunder’s and Pacers’ route to the NBA Finals couldn’t have been more different.
The Thunder spent the majority of the regular season atop the Western Conference standings and were many peoples’ picks for the title.
They are led by this season’s MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and have a deep rotation filled with productive role players who have stepped up in the biggest moments.
On the other hand, the Pacers had a good but not great regular season, not challenging for the top two seeds in the Eastern Conference and even having a sub-.500 record in January.
Yes, they have two elite players in Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam, but causing a stir in the latter stages of the NBA postseason was on nobody’s playoffs predictions.
But here we are. Both teams had to endure their ups and downs throughout the playoffs.
The Thunder went to a Game 7 against the Denver Nuggets in the semifinals and experienced a 42-point blowout loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals before their star-power shone through.
The Pacers, meanwhile, have made big comebacks a part of their DNA, shocking the Eastern Conference No. 1 seed, the Cleveland Cavaliers, in the second round in five games before coming through a thrilling Eastern Conference Finals with the New York Knicks which became an all-time classic, such was the level of drama in most games.
While the Thunder are many people’s favorites to earn their first NBA ring since moving from Seattle, in particular with home-court advantage – they had a league-best 43-7 home record this season – Indiana has made the impossible possible throughout the postseason.
And led by head coach Rick Carlisle – who coached the Dallas Mavericks to a shock NBA title victory over the heavily-favored Miami Heat in 2011 – nothing is off the cards.
Offense vs. defense
Throughout the postseason, the two Finals contenders have homed in on what makes them successful.
For the Thunder, it is their elite defense while for the Pacers, it is their explosive offense.
OKC’s deep rotation is full of capable defensive players, highlighted by their two All-NBA Defensive team stars – Lu Dort on the first team and Jalen Williams on the second.
But even outside of those, they have contributors who have had big moments this playoffs. Chet Holmgren has provided key blocks at certain points and Alex Caruso turned into a key defender of three-time MVP Nikola Jokić in the Nuggets series.
On the other side, Indiana has made a high-scoring offense a key part of its game.
Most of it revolves around Haliburton, with his pin-point passing able to set up his teammates in good spots while Siakam provides a physical presence inside.
Haliburton is averaging 18.8 points, 9.8 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game this postseason as Indiana has outgunned many of its opponents; in the 2025 postseason so far, the Pacers are 12-0 when they score 114 or more points but 0-4 when they don’t hit the mark.
“When you get to this point of the season, it’s two teams and it’s one goal and so it becomes an all-or-nothing thing,” Carlisle said. “And we understand the magnitude of the opponent. Oklahoma City has been dominant all year long – with capital letters in the word ‘dominant.’
