The seeds for the 2025 NBA Finals began getting planted unknowingly in 2017, back when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was about to enroll at Kentucky and Tyrese Haliburton was getting ready for his senior year of high school in Wisconsin.<\/p>\n
That was the year the Indiana Pacers traded Paul George to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Pacers landed Domantas Sabonis out of that deal. The Thunder would trade George in 2019 to the Los Angeles Clippers for a package that included Gilgeous-Alexander. The Pacers would trade Sabonis in 2022 to Sacramento for a package that included Haliburton.<\/p>\n
And here we are.<\/p>\n
Gilgeous-Alexander is the NBA\u2019s MVP and Oklahoma City\u2019s best player. Haliburton is an Olympic gold medalist and Indiana\u2019s best player. They\u2019ll lead their teams into Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night \u2014 Indiana at Oklahoma City, the start of a series that will decide who hoists the Larry O\u2019Brien Trophy.<\/p>\n
\u201cMan, I\u2019m just so proud of this group,\u201d Haliburton said in the on-court televised interview with TNT after the Pacers\u2019 125-108 victory over the New York Knicks on Saturday in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals. \u201cI don\u2019t even have words right now. It\u2019s really exciting. We\u2019ll enjoy this one for now. There\u2019s four more, there\u2019s a lot more work to do, against a really tough team.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Thunder \u2014 depending on how you count \u2014 are in the finals for either the second time or the fifth time. The franchise, when it was in Seattle, lost what was then called the NBA World Championship Series to Washington in 1978, then won the title in a rematch against the then-Bullets in 1979 and lost in the NBA Finals to Chicago in 1996. Oklahoma City got to the finals in 2012, losing to Miami.<\/p>\n
The Thunder are 80-18 this season, after going 68-14 in the regular season and then 12-4 in the playoffs \u2014 sweeping Memphis in Round 1, surviving seven games against Denver in Round 2 and then ousting Minnesota in five games for the Western Conference title.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you win, that\u2019s a special thing,\u201d Thunder forward Chet Holmgren said. \u201cIt\u2019s not guaranteed in this league. If everybody was guaranteed to win, it\u2019d be a participation trophy instead of a Larry O\u2019Brien. So, you have to kind of take it in and understand what you\u2019ve accomplished to that point, but then the next day you have to start turning the page, get rid of the emotions and start focusing on preparation and what you have to do to conquer the next step. And that\u2019s where we\u2019re at.\u201d<\/p>\n
Indiana is in the NBA title round for the second time, having lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2000. The Pacers franchise won ABA titles in 1970, 1972 and 1973. They got out of the Eastern Conference as the No. 4 seed, beating Milwaukee in five games in Round 1, beating top-seeded Cleveland in five games in Round 2 and then beating New York in the conference finals.<\/p>\n
The Pacers were 10-15 through the first 25 games of the season \u2014 then went 40-17 to finish the regular season. They are the fourth team to start 10-15 or worse and go on to win a conference title, joining Seattle in 1977-78 (8-17), the 1956-57 St. Louis Hawks (10-15) and the 1958-59 Minneapolis Lakers (10-15). None of those teams went on to win the NBA title.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 49 states, it\u2019s just basketball,\u201d Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. \u201cBut this is Indiana. … Our guys earned this. Congratulations to our guys.\u201d<\/p>\n
Oklahoma City swept the season series with Indiana 2-0, part of a regular season where the Thunder \u2014 who finished with the NBA\u2019s best record \u2014 went 29-1 against the Eastern Conference. That doesn\u2019t include a loss to Milwaukee in the NBA Cup final, a game that didn\u2019t count in any standings.<\/p>\n
So, the matchup is set. It\u2019s the Paul George finals, albeit without Paul George \u2014 who had arguably the best season of his career with the Thunder, averaging 28 points and finishing third in the MVP voting for 2018-19 \u2014 starting at OKC on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, he wasn\u2019t here long but he had great years here,\u201d Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said Saturday when asked about George\u2019s impact. \u201cI mean, one of the best years of his career was here, one of the best individual seasons a player\u2019s had here \u2014 which is saying something here with the guys they\u2019ve had. So, I have a lot of respect for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
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