CNN
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The 2025 NBA playoffs were something to remember with shocking results, a major historic comeback and the struggles of traditional heavyweights.
And at the end of the thrilling postseason, there are two teams with very different stories in the final.
The Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers will face off in the Best of Seven Series, a chance to lift championship banners at the Larry O’Brien Trophy and the Home Arena.
Both had a tough journey to reach this place, so here’s everything you need to know.
The NBA Finals begin with Game 1 on Thursday at Oklahoma City, and the Thunder will gain a home court advantage as their regular season record has improved.
All games will be broadcast on ABC.
This is the complete NBA Finals schedule:
Game 1: Pacers @ Thunder, Thursday at 8:30pm
Game 2: Pacers @ Thunder, Sunday at 8pm
Game 3: Thunder @Pacers, June 11th at 8:30pm
Game 4: Thunder @Pacers, June 13th at 8:30pm
Game 5 (if necessary): Pacers @ Thunder, June 16th at 8:30pm
Game 6 (if necessary): Thunder @Pacers, June 19th at 8:30pm
Game 7 (if necessary): Pacers @ Thunder, June 22nd at 8pm
The Thunder and Pacers’ routes to the NBA Finals could not have been any more different.
The Thunder spent most of the regular season above Western conference rankings, and was the choice of many people in the title.
They are led by this season’s MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and have a deep rotation filled with productive role players who stepped up at their biggest moments.
Meanwhile, the Pacers weren’t challenging for the Eastern Conference top two seeds, and didn’t even have a sub-.500 record in January.
Yes, they have two elite players for Tyreese Halliburton and Pascal Siakam, but it was not in anyone’s playoff predictions to cause a stir in the late stages of the NBA postseason.
But here we are. Both teams had to endure the ups and downs throughout the playoffs.
The Thunder went to Game 7 against the Denver Nuggets in the semi-finals and experienced a 42-point blown loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals before star power shined.
Meanwhile, the Pacers made a big comeback into part of their DNA and shocked the Cleveland Cavaliers, the first seed of the Eastern Conference in the second round in five games, then in the thrilling Eastern Conference Finals with the New York Knicks, which were on the level of drama in most games.
The Thunder has been a favorite of many people to win their first NBA ring since moving out of Seattle, especially with a home court advantage, but has had a league-leading 43-7 home record this season, but Indiana has become impossible throughout the postseason.
And led by manager Rick Carlisle, who coached the Dallas Mavericks, who won the shock NBA title victory over the 2011 massive Miami Heat – hasn’t missed the card.
Throughout the postseason, the two final contenders returned to what would make them successful.
For Thunder, for Pacers it is their elite defense and an explosive crime.
OKC’s deep loop is filled with talented defensive players highlighted by two All-NBA defensive team stars, first team Lu Dort and second Jalen Williams.
But even outside of them, they have contributors who have had this playoff moment. Chet Holmgren provided key blocks at certain points, and Alex Caruso became the key defender of MVP Nikola Jokić in the Nuggets series three times.
On the other side, Indiana made a high-scoring offense a key part of the game.
Most of it revolves around Halliburton, with his pinpoints allowing his teammates to be placed in good places, and Siakam provides a physical presence inside.
Halliburton averages 18.8 points, 9.8 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game this postseason, as Indiana outperforms many opponents. In the previous 2025 postseason, the pacer is 12-0 when scores 114 or more points, but 0-4 when not reaching the mark.
“When you get to this point in the season, it’s just two teams and one goal, so it’s all-or-nothing stuff,” Carlisle said. “And we understand the size of our opponents. Oklahoma City was dominant all year round. The word “dominant” has capitalized.
“Defensively, they’ve been great historically and got all sorts of people they can score. It’s two teams with similar structures, slightly different styles.”
The fate of this year’s NBA title may revolve around one end of the courthouse.
The NBA Finals are defined by two star guards on display, Gilgauss Alexander of the Thunder and Halliburton of the Pacers.
Both were traded by the first team. Gilgauss Alexander was traded by the Sacramento Kings from the Los Angeles Clippers and Halliburton, but blossomed with a new team.
Gilgeous-Alexander is the league’s MVP this season, beating Jokic in his first award.
The 26-year-old is undoubtedly one of the most unstoppable offensive powers in the NBA, but it’s been a long way from reaching this point.
“It was a roller coaster,” Gilgaus Alexander said earlier this week. “I had a night I thought I wasn’t good at basketball, and there were nights I used to think I was the best player in the world, and it was the ups and downs.
He added:
It was a similar journey for Halliburton, who played Dearon Fox as the second fiddle in Sacramento.
His trade with Indiana allowed him to express himself and saw him turn into one of the best playmakers in the NBA.
“It was a franchise, and I had the opportunity and saw what other people didn’t see in me,” Halliburton said of the Pacers. “I think sometimes they’ve seen more in me than I’ve seen for myself.”
That doesn’t mean he’s universally loved in the league, but rather an anonymous survey of NBA players who voted for Halliburton as the league’s most overrated player. His play and the winner of the game, this postseason certainly changed some of those opinions.
With the Thunder and Pacers having a chance to win this year’s Larry O’Brien Trophy, they will likely hang on the shoulders of star guards to reach the finish line.