Both the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers have Paul George to thank for helping create their NBA Finals-bound rosters, despite the Philadelphia 76ers star never making it there himself
Tyrese Haliburton and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are a byproduct of multiple trades that featured Paul George(Image: Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images)
The Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers meeting in the 2025 NBA Finals for the first time, and both organizations have one player to thank: Philadelphia 76ers star Paul George.
The Pacers booked their first trip to the NBA Finals in 25 years after dispatching the New York Knicks in six games, with Tyrese Haliburton having the last word in a back-and-forth with Ben Stiller. Meanwhile, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder to a gentleman’s sweep of the Minnesota Timberwolves to advance to Oklahoma City’s first finals since 2012.
And while both teams were built through masterful draft picks and shrewd trades, the two franchises can thank George for helping them build championship contenders down the line.
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In 2010, the Pacers drafted George with the No. 10 overall pick, pairing him with star forward Danny Granger for a formidable one-two punch. However, Granger, an All-Star in his own right, was hampered by injuries in the years to come, leaving George as the franchise superstar.
Fast-forward seven years and George expressed he would not re-sign with the team and was gearing up to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2018 offseason. Fearing they would lose him for nothing, the Pacers traded George to the Thunder for Domantas Sabonis and Victor Oladipo.
Although he pined for Southern California, the Thunder ultimately were able to sign George to a four-year contract worth $137 million. After spending two seasons in Oklahoma City, the Thunder traded George to the Los Angeles Clippers as the team wanted a superstar to pair alongside newly signed free agent star Kawhi Leonard.
Paul George had a hand in helping build the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers’ rosters(Image: Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
To get George in Los Angeles, the Clippers traded a rising star in Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, five first-round picks and two pick swaps. Some of those picks became Tre Mann, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Dillon Jones and the Thunder’s newest star, Jalen Williams.
From there, general manager Sam Presti began building up the Thunder with sufficient draft picks, trades and free agent signings to bring in established veterans such as Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein. While this was happening, the Sacramento Kings drafted Haliburton to complement star guard De’Aaron Fox in hopes of ending the franchise’s playoff drought.
However, the Kings front office deemed a star big man more important to pair with Fox than Haliburton. In 2022, Sacramento traded Haliburton to Indiana for a package headlined by Sabonis. The results were immediate for the Kings, with Sacramento making it to the playoffs in Sabonis’ first full season with the team.
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Meanwhile, Haliburton continued developing as a player, earning two All-Star appearances and two All-NBA Third Team selections with Indiana. The guard’s rise as one of the brightest young stars in the league was cemented after he played an instrumental part in guiding the Pacers back to the NBA Finals.
On the other hand, Gilgeous-Alexander won his first NBA MVP award this year, becoming the second Canadian to receive the award along with Steve Nash. The Thunder also won 68 games this season, the most the franchise had ever won, en route to the NBA Finals.
The Kings currently are stuck in limbo, trading away Fox and looking for a suitable point guard to help them sustain a level of relevancy and stability the franchise had been lacking in years.
After spending five seasons in Southern California, George signed a four-year, $212 million contract with the 76ers. The year went disastrously for George and Philadelphia. He played only 41 games with adductor and knee injuries, while the 76ers went 24-58, missing the playoffs entirely.