(Olympics.com) The 2025 NBA Finals are finally here.
The West’s No.1 team – and the No.1 overall seed – the Oklahoma City Thunder, will take on the No. 4 team from the East, the Indiana Pacers, to decide who will lift the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
The winner of this best-of-seven series, starting on Thursday, June 5, will be a first-time NBA Champion, marking one of many reasons why this unexpected championship match-up is set to be a compelling one.
Arriving at the door of the championship series, having dispatched the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games, the OKC Thunder come as the Goliath of these Finals.
They boast the league’s reigning MVP and All-NBA team awardee, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, as well as two All-Defensive selections in Lu Dort and Jalen Williams. They started this season as one of the favourites, dominated the Western Conference and will compete for the championship with the most 30-point wins ever in a playoff run.
Their commanding offence paired with their stifling defence makes them a monstrous prospect on both ends of the floor, and they boast two regular-season wins over Indiana. The unfancied Pacers will, however, back themselves in the fight.
Led by Olympic basketball champion Tyrese Haliburton, the winners from the East have quietly gone about their business, with the second-best offensive efficiency in the playoffs at 117.7 points per 100 possessions.
They’ve masterminded a string of unlikely comebacks in the playoffs to hand them a steely kind of resolve not doubt needed at this stage of the journey, and they have an impressive bench featuring Eastern Conference Finals MVP Pascal Siakam.
How these two teams tactically match up will be intriguing, not least with Haliburton as the Pacers’ conductor.
