The dust is about to settle on the NBA campaign, and after months of regular-season buildup and three rounds of playoff action, we’re left with two teams vying for basketball supremacy.
These are the two hottest teams in the league since the calendar flipped. They’re headlined by polar-opposite strengths, and offer intrigue up and down their rosters.
In simplest terms, the squads bring up an age-old dilemma: What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?
Oklahoma City’s near-impenetrable defence has caused fits from the NBA’s biggest stars. Not to mention, the Thunder enter Thursday’s Game 1 of the Finals with three extra days of rest after dispatching the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games.
But they haven’t faced a team quite as capable offensively and in-form as Indiana. The Pacers are arguably the deepest squad these playoffs, led by a classic guard-forward pair.
They say speed kills, and the Pacers appear determined to prove that point all the way to their first NBA title. Looking like a racecar at the Indy 500, the Pacers lapped stars like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Donovan Mitchell and Jalen Brunson en route to the franchise’s second Finals appearance, and first in 25 years.
Here’s more of what you need to know about the Eastern Conference champs heading into the series.
Finals schedule (all times ET):
No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. No. 4 Indiana Pacers
Game 1: Thursday, June 5 at 8:30 p.m.
Game 2: Sunday, June 8 at 8 p.m.
Game 3: Wednesday, June 11 at 8:30 p.m.
Game 4: Friday, June 13 at 8:30 p.m.
*Game 5: Monday, June 16 at 8:30 p.m.
*Game 6: Thursday, June 19 at 8:30 p.m.
*Game 7: Sunday, June 22 at 8 p.m.
Season series: Thunder won 2-0
Dec. 26, 2024: Thunder def. Pacers 120-114
March 29, 2025: Thunder def. Pacers 132-111
Pacers’ road to the NBA Finals:
Round 1: Eliminated Milwaukee Bucks 4-1
Round 2: Eliminated Cleveland Cavaliers 4-1
Round 1: Eliminated New York Knicks 4-2
It wouldn’t be hyperbolic to present the Finals as a David vs. Goliath matchup, considering it’s the East’s fourth-seeded Pacers taking on a 68-win, record-setting Thunder team.
But Indiana would be the first to remind folks how that classic tale ultimately ended. Because if anyone knows how to slay a giant, it’s Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle, who once took down a prime LeBron James and his Miami Heat while leading Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks to their only title.
This time around, Carlisle has assembled a cast of players who are anything but a motley crew — his Pacers have instead been in sync as they’ve routinely problem-solved their way to the championship series.
And they’ll need to keep doing so against a Thunder team that schematically shut down stars like Ja Morant, Nikola Jokic and Anthony Edwards.
What the Pacers have going for them, however, is that their leaders — Pascal Siakam and Tyrese Haliburton — have been in top form simultaneously. While Siakam walked away with the ECF MVP, it was by no means a runaway as he took the award on a 5-4 vote split with Haliburton after both had stellar outings to eliminate New York.
If OKC sends extra attention to one of them and the other (or another Pacer) can make them pay, things will open up for Indy. In the Thunder’s four playoff losses, three against the Nuggets, the opposition always had at least two 20-plus point scorers.
On a micro-level, OKC will look to dictate the types of shots being taken as the Thunder have done all playoffs. In pressuring the ball away from top options, they dare role players to beat them instead. It has resulted in the Thunder giving up heaps of corner threes to lower-usage guys — their opponents in the second and third rounds led the playoffs in such attempts.
And while neither Denver nor Minnesota could make Oklahoma City regret it, Indiana just might. The Pacers led all playoff teams in converting from the corners, and did so handily (46.9 per cent). Both Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith are knocking down over 45 per cent of said looks, with the latter topping the post-season charts with his 17 corner makes.
If that trend continues, it could be the stone this David Pacers team uses to knock down the Goliath Thunder.
Burning question: Can the Pacers break through the Thunder’s defence?
It’s no secret Indiana likes to run, whether it’s off makes or misses. The team is ranked third in transition frequency in the playoffs. But it’s not just that the Pacers get out on the break a ton, it’s also that they’re better than anyone else at making the most of those opportunities.
Indiana has outscored opponents by an NBA-best 8.5 points on average in transition throughout the playoffs (per NBA.com), and made sure of that margin when they raced past the Knicks for a 46-18 edge on the break in their series-clinching Game 6 win.
Yet if there’s a team that can slow down even this speedy bunch, it’s the Thunder. OKC leads the playoffs in limiting transition frequency (13.6 per cent) and transition points per game (17.2). And if they can force the Pacers to slow down and face a set defence, it will almost certainly favour the Thunder, who’ve held opponents to a league-worst 88.6 points per 100 halfcourt possessions in the post-season (per Cleaning the Glass).
And while the Pacers’ halfcourt offence has been more than capable thus far, averaging 105.8 points per 100 halfcourt possessions (second in the playoffs), they’ve done it against a trio of teams with glaring defensive liabilities. OKC presents no such luxuries.
Whether it’s on the run or against a set defence, Indiana’s offence will need to be next to perfect, and if it’s not, Oklahoma City — leading the post-season in forcing turnovers — will capitalize.
X-Factor: Andrew Nembhard
While it’ll be a feel-good moment when we eventually see all four Canadian representatives in this year’s Finals share the court, expect no brotherly love between them.
Nembhard will have to put camaraderie aside against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander if he’s going to slow down his fellow countryman, especially if Nesmith’s ankle still isn’t at 100 per cent and he’s unable to adequately take turns guarding the MVP.
Thankfully, Nembhard seems more than up to the task — proving it against plenty of the East’s premier perimeter talents, but most recently against Brunson.
After getting torched by the Clutch Player of the Year in last season’s playoffs, the third-year guard made up for it in 2025 as he held Brunson in check when tasked as his primary defender. Nembhard capped that effort by helping limit the Knicks star to just 8-of-18 from the field in Game 6 of the ECF.
The 25-year-old won’t just be called upon defensively, however, as he’ll need to do lots on offence too, given OKC’s desire to limit the likes of Siakam and Haliburton.
If the two lead ball-handlers are hampered, Nembhard will need to step up and make plays. And when he hasn’t, the Pacers have felt it. Indiana is 2-4 in these playoffs when he’s scored 10 or fewer points.
Regardless of the outcome, watching Nembhard and SGA battle on the grandest stage will undoubtedly be a treat for folks north of the border — specifically Southern Ontario — as a player from Aurora, Ont. and another from Hamilton, Ont. help determine basketball history.