2025 NBA Finals Preview: Thunder vs. Pacers - Key Matchups, Schedule, X-factor, and Championship Prediction
The 2024-25 NBA season is coming to a close, with the Western Conference champion Oklahoma City Thunder, the top seed in the postseason bracket, facing off against the Eastern Conference champion Indiana Pacers in the 2025 NBA Finals. This will be the first postseason meeting between the two franchises, with both teams looking to break a championship drought. The Oklahoma City Thunder have been the best team in the NBA since the start of the 2023-24 season, finishing with the NBA's second-best record and net rating. They were one of only two teams to finish in the top five in both offensive and defensive efficiency, with the other being the Boston Celtics, who won the NBA championship. The Thunder brought back all of their most important players, traded for Alex Caruso and signed Isaiah Hartenstein, who averaged a double-double with nearly four assists and a block in just 27.9 minutes per game. The Indiana Pacers have not raised a title banner since the great Slick Leonard led them to three ABA championships between 1970 and 1973, before the ABA-NBA merger. The Pacers will be looking to break this drought and make a run in the 2025 NBA Finals. In this NBA Finals preview, we will look at what we know about both teams, their head-to-head matchup, a matchup to watch, the biggest X-factor, key questions, crunchtime lineups, series prediction, betting odds, and the Finals schedule.
- They have been the best team in the NBA since October's opening tip.
- Oklahoma City had the NBA's second-best record and net rating during the 2023-24 season.
- The Thunder brought back all of their most important players and added Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein.
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is expected to win MVP, while Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren are expected to earn All-Star nods.
- The Thunder are looking to return to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012 and win their first championship since moving from Seattle.
