The 2025 NBA Finals matchup is set, as the Indiana Pacers will take on the Oklahoma City Thunder with Game 1 tipping off on June 5.
As we quickly look ahead to the start of the NBA Finals, here are three early storylines that will impact this series.
Both teams reside in small markets within the league, making this NBA Finals matchup a win for the little guys.
But there’s also one other big connector between these two teams that practically led to both making it to the NBA Finals: Paul George.
It’s the fact that both teams traded the All-Star forward away for assets that directly — and indirectly — led to them building NBA Finals teams.
Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals between the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder is scheduled to begin on June 5. After being put to the test in the field, both teams will now compete for the title of champions.
The Thunder defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games to win the Western Conference, while the Pacers advanced by defeating the New York Knicks in six games in the Eastern Conference finals. Though Indiana has been the underdog for the majority of these playoffs, the Thunder are clear favorites right out of the gate (-700 according to DraftKings), so they won’t feel any different.
The series between two tactical teams that have shown they can win it all is sure to be exciting, even though it may not be the matchup that everyone was expecting. Here are three early storylines that will affect this series as we rapidly approach the NBA Finals.
Alexander versus Shai Gilgeous. Haliburton Tyrese.
This is going to be the series’ primary draw. Haliburton just proved to everyone that he should be regarded as one of the best guards in the NBA right now, especially his fellow players who voted him the league’s most overrated player. He doesn’t always use his scoring prowess because he prefers to get teammates involved and dish out assists over having a big scoring night. However, Game 4 against the Knicks showed that he can do both without compromising the caliber of his play (32 points, 15 assists, 12 rebounds, four steals, and zero turnovers).
Haliburton will now have to contend with his most difficult defensive test against an OKC squad that will use a number of defenders to cut him off. In the Western Conference finals, Alex Caruso made Anthony Edwards’ life miserable with a level of physicality that might also irritate Haliburton. However, the Pacers’ superior ball movement over the Timberwolves may have less of an impact.
Also, the Pacers will have a lot of work ahead of them as they attempt to slow down SGA, who was just named the Western Conference finals MVP and league MVP. His length and high IQ allowed him to cut into the paint, execute difficult finishes, and get to the free throw line, giving Minnesota headaches. This Indiana squad does not have Jaden McDaniels, but Aaron Nesmith just chased around Jalen Brunson and did a respectable enough job. However, he will undoubtedly need to reduce his average of four fouls per game during the postseason in order to protect Gilgeous-Alexander. Luckily, Andrew Nembhard can step in if Nesmith is in foul trouble. In fact, Nembhard might start at SGA as the main defender before changes are made.
If the remainder of the playoffs is any guide, we should expect some thrilling performances from these two All-Star guards, whose performances will determine how this series begins.
A series could be decided by depth.
Both of these teams possess a certain level of quality depth. Because their ninth player is likely superior to Indiana’s eighth or seventh rotation player, the Thunder have the advantage in terms of quantity. The Thunder will therefore appear to have an advantage on paper, but that does not always translate into on-court output.
In the second round against the Nuggets, Jalen Williams struggled to be an effective offensive threat, but against the Timberwolves, he played like the All-Star he is. Caruso has had an unusual 20-point performance, and the Thunder can rely on someone like Chet Holmgren to step in if Williams is having trouble, but OKC needs Williams to be reliable. Despite having a lot of depth, this team still depends on its two All-Star players to perform at that level almost every night.
Even though Haliburton and Eastern Conference finals MVP Pascal Siakam may have a tag-team attack on most nights, the Pacers don’t rely as heavily on one or two players to score the majority of their points.
When the Indiana Pacers defeat the New York Knicks and advance to the NBA Finals, Pascal Siakam is named the Eastern Conference Finals MVP.
The Carter Bahns.
However, the team is the third-highest scoring bench unit in the postseason, and all five of Indiana’s players average double digits. In their run to the Finals, the Pacers have largely proven everyone wrong and have looked good for extended periods of time, but they will need players like Myles Turner, Nesmith, and Nembhard to be productive.
For the Pacers, Turner in particular will be an X-factor, and if Holmgren is behind him, he will need to capitalize on mismatch opportunities. Indiana can spread the floor and allow Haliburton to reach the rim on Turner if it’s Isaiah Hartenstein. When Bennedict Mathurin is on the court, the Pacers will need him to play better defense and avoid forced shots and carless errors. Indiana will need their supporting players to perform well against the Knicks because, although the Thunder might be able to win four games by depending just on the top two or three players, the Pacers have advanced to the NBA Finals in this manner.
A common thread.
OKC and Indiana share a few characteristics besides being the last two teams remaining. This NBA Finals game is a victory for the underdogs because both teams are based in small league markets. Young All-Star point guards serve as their mainstays, and the front offices are run by men who began their careers under R.C: Kevin Pritchard for the Pacers and Sam Presti for the Thunder. Buford in the San Antonio Spurs’ scouting division. Paul George is the other significant link between these two teams, though, and he almost brought them both to the NBA Finals.
George played for both teams, but that isn’t the case. It is the fact that both teams built NBA Finals teams both directly and indirectly as a result of trading the All-Star forward for assets.
George and the Pacers. .
Although the Pacers did not reach their current position by trading George, it was undoubtedly the first domino to fall. The Thunder acquired George from Indiana in July 2017 in exchange for Domantas Sabonis and Victor Oladipo. George led Indiana to two Eastern Conference finals during the thrilling era of Pacers basketball that came to an end. However, after seven years with the team that selected him 10th overall in 2010, George was approaching the last year of his contract and had no intention of re-signing with them. As a result, Indiana dealt him a year earlier in order to receive something in exchange.
The Pacers made five playoff appearances thanks to the unexpected success of Sabonis and Oladipo, but they were never able to advance past the first round. The Pacers missed two consecutive postseasons after that five-year run, and in the midst of what was likely to be another losing campaign in 2021–2022, the team decided it was time to end the Sabonis era in Indiana. Haliburton, who has since been a huge success for Indiana, was the main reason the Pacers sent Sabonis to the Sacramento Kings in February 2022. The Pacers would not have acquired Haliburton, the cornerstone of the franchise and the driving force behind this team’s success for the foreseeable future, if they hadn’t traded George to the Thunder, specifically for Sabonis.
Thunder and George.
It’s a little clearer for the Thunder. The Thunder had two All-Star seasons after George was traded to Oklahoma City, but he had always desired to play in Los Angeles. Originally, George wanted to play for the Lakers while he was with the Pacers, but in the summer of 2019, after Kawhi Leonard had just led the Raptors to a championship, he essentially told the Clippers that he would sign with them if they went after Leonard. As a result, the Clippers sent Gilgeous-Alexander, five future first-round picks, and two pick swaps to the Thunder.
Along with giving the Thunder their future MVP winner and franchise centerpiece in SGA, the Clippers also sent a 2022 first-round pick in the draft, which turned out to be Jalen Williams, who was named All-Star, All-NBA, and All-Defensive this season. Tre Mann from OKC was also acquired in that deal; they have since traded him, but they still have L. a. ‘s 2026 unprotected first-round pick to continue strengthening a team that is currently four victories away from an NBA title.
It’s funny to think that George’s trade value helped create two championship contenders over the years, but no one could have predicted that things would have worked out this well for the Thunder and Pacers after trading George.
