Photo: Indiana Pacers/X

According to Lev Akabas of Sportico, the 2025 NBA Finals mark a historic moment for youth and financial efficiency in the league. The Oklahoma City Thunder, with an average player age of just 24.7 years, are the youngest Finals team since 1977.

Their opponents, the Indiana Pacers, aren’t much older; their average age sits at 26.2 years. If Indiana were to win the series, they would become the youngest NBA champion since 1980.

But the youth movement isn’t the only notable trend. Akabas points out that this year also represents a financial milestone: for the first time since the NBA introduced its luxury tax system in the early 2000s, neither Finals team is a luxury tax payer.

The Pacers operated with a team payroll of $169.1 million, ranking 18th in the league and just below the $170.8 million tax threshold. The Thunder, even more fiscally conservative, had a payroll of $165.6 million, which placed them 25th out of 30 teams.

This combination of youth and cost-efficiency is no accident. Both franchises have prioritized smart roster construction around emerging talent.

Oklahoma City features recent lottery picks like Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, while Indiana has Bennedict Mathurin, all still playing on affordable rookie-scale contracts.

These deals provide outsized value in a new Collective Bargaining Agreement that imposes harsher penalties on teams that exceed the tax line, making the Thunder and Pacers’ approach not just impressive but increasingly essential in today’s NBA landscape.

In essence, both teams are proving that championship contention doesn’t have to come with bloated payrolls or aging veterans.

Instead, they’re showing the power of long-term planning, elite drafting, and player development while rewriting the blueprint for what a Finals-caliber roster can look like in the modern NBA.

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