Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner holds the trophy as players celebrate after winning Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals of the NBA basketball playoffs against the New York Knicks in Indianapolis, Saturday, May 31, 2025. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)
Republished June 04, 2025 - 6:02 AM
Original Publication Date June 01, 2025 - 7:01 AM
The teams are in Oklahoma City. And now, it's media day at the NBA Finals.
The Indiana Pacers got to town on Tuesday evening, a bit behind schedule because of bad weather, and they'll practice along with the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday at Paycom Center — the arena that will play host to Game 1 of the NBA's title series.
The matchup starts Thursday night.
Stories of note
— Players play for the trophy. Referees ref for the jacket
— Ashley Kerr wins a lot of titles. She’s Mark Daigneault’s wife
— The ratings might not be good. The NBA has 76 billion reasons not to worry
— In Seattle, the message is clear: ‘Go Pacers’
— Two teams, two paths, one destination
— Thunder have a home-court edge thanks to 18,000 teammates
— Haliburton. Gilgeous-Alexander took long roads to stardom
— There will be points. But what about defense?
— The Pacers are snakebitten no more
Recapping the OKC-Indiana series
— Dec. 26: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scores 45 points and the Thunder erase an early double-digit deficit, pulling away in the second half to beat the Pacers 120-114. Andrew Nembhard scores 23 for Indiana, while Tyrese Haliburton is held to four points.
— March 29: Gilgeous-Alexander scores 33 and the Thunder win 132-111. Haliburton leads the Pacers with 18, and both teams have six players finish in double figures.
SGA is the MVP
A recap of Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s winning of the NBA MVP award.
The story: Gilgeous-Alexander tops Jokic for MVP award
The reaction: SGA tears up when talking about his wife
Steve Nash speaks: Canada’s 1st MVP thrilled to see SGA follow him
The notebook: Jokic finishes top-2 again, Giannis’ streak ends, LeBron gets votes
Betting odds
Oklahoma City (-700) is a big favorite to win the NBA title, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. Indiana's odds are set at +500.
The Thunder are an early 9.5-point favorite over Indiana for Game 1. The most likely series outcome, according to BetMGM's odds, is Thunder in five games (+200).
The Pacers have covered in 11 of their first 16 games of these playoffs. The Thunder — favored in every game so far — have covered seven out of 16 times to this point.
NBA Finals schedule
All games of the NBA Finals will be aired on ABC.
Thursday — Game 1, Indiana at Oklahoma City, 8:30 p.m. EDT
Sunday — Game 2, Indiana at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m. EDT
June 11 — Game 3, Oklahoma City at Indiana, 8:30 p.m. EDT
June 13 — Game 4, Oklahoma City at Indiana, 8:30 p.m. EDT
June 16 — Game 5, Indiana at Oklahoma City, if necessary, 8:30 p.m. EDT
June 19 — Game 6, Oklahoma City at Indiana, if necessary, 8:30 p.m. EDT
June 22 — Game 7, Indiana at Oklahoma City, if necessary, 8 p.m. EDT
(And good news: No NBA Finals games conflict with Stanley Cup Final dates!)
Key upcoming events
Thursday — Commissioner Adam Silver news conference, before Game 1.
June 25 — NBA draft, first round.
June 26 — NBA draft, second round.
Stats of the day
— Starting fast might prove critical in this series. The Pacers are 7-1 in the playoffs when leading after the first quarter, while the Thunder are 8-2 in that scenario.
— Indiana coach Rick Carlisle is 6-5 head-to-head against Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault — 2-1 when Carlisle was with Dallas and 4-4 in his current role with the Pacers. Combined score of those 11 games: Carlisle's teams 1,259, Daigneault's teams 1,257.
Quote of the day
“It'll be a daunting challenge — but a great one.” — Pacers coach Rick Carlisle, on facing the Thunder.
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