The Unlikely Path to the NBA Finals: Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers Defy Top-Four Seed Rule in 2023 Playoffs

The 2023 NBA playoffs have proven that conventional wisdom about what works and what doesn't in the postseason is not always accurate. Double-digit comebacks, playing on the road, and inexperience have not been an impediment for the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers, who have overcome each other to make the NBA Finals.

The Thunder have the second-youngest roster to have made the Finals in the last 70 years, while the Pacers have thrived on the road and are winning despite historically low odds. Despite all this upheaval, one rule remains unchanged: to win an NBA title, a top-four seed is almost a requirement.

Of the previous 78 championships, 77 were won by top-four seeds. The latest finalists meet that criterion, with Oklahoma City finishing the regular season with the West's top seed and Indiana being fourth. However, decades of precedent suggest that only Oklahoma City meets the NBA's even tougher championship standard, as each of the league's last 29 champions has been a top-three seed.

If Indiana wins this season's NBA title, it would become only the second fourth-seeded champion in league history and the first since 1981. The lesson is that the NBA regular season is often maligned for its length, but that length has also proven to be an effective predictor of which teams can endure four consecutive best-of-seven playoff rounds.

In conclusion, these playoffs have shown that anything is possible, almost anything, anyway. The Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers have proven that they are capable of overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds to reach the NBA Finals, and their success will be a topic of discussion for years to come.