The 2025 National Basketball Association championship will feature two young and exciting teams with the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder facing off. Both teams are looking to earn their first ever championship win. The Thunder have been heavy favorites to win the championship ever since the Boston Celtics were eliminated in the second round by the New York Knicks.
The Pacers have had an impressive run to the finals. Entering as a four seed, they dominated the five-seed Bucks in five games, pulled up a massive upset over the one-seeded Cavaliers in five games and knocked off the three-seed Knicks in six games to get to the finals. Pascal Siakam earned himself Eastern Conference Finals MVP by averaging 25 points, 5 rebounds and 3.5 assists. He had 39 points in the Pacers game two win. Tyrese Haliburton also shined in the series, averaging 21 points, 6 rebounds and 10.5 assists per game.
The Thunder had a solid run to the finals. As the one-seed, they destroyed the Grizzlies in four games, squeaked past the Nuggets in seven games and bounced back well against the Timberwolves, beating them in four games. Point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander earned Western Conference Finals MVP, averaging 31 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists over the course of the series, including a 40 point performance in game four.
The Thunder are favored in this series, as they finished the regular season 18 games ahead of the Pacers and they also have Gilgeous-Alexander running the floor at point guard and Chet Holmgren dominating at center. Gilgeous-Alexander has had an incredible MVP season averaging 30 points a game.
In the playoffs, the Thunder were top five in points per game, rebounds per game, assists per game, blocks per game, field goal percentage and three-pointers made and were first in steals per game. However, the Pacers were first in assists per game, field goal percentage, three-pointers made and three-point percentage. Therefore, the stats could prove that this championship series has a high potential for success. It looks like the Thunder will have to rely on their defense shutting down the Pacers’ explosive offence.
