The 2025 NBA Finals have delivered one of the most captivating championship series in recent memory, and now all eyes turn to Sunday’s Game 7 showdown between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers.
As Sam Amick of The Athletic puts it, this final battle serves as a “perfect coda” to a thrilling postseason and marks what he calls an “all-time classic” Finals series.
It also brings a rare and dramatic twist – the first Game 7 in the NBA Finals since 2016, when LeBron James’ Cavaliers overcame a 3–1 deficit to defeat the Golden State Warriors historically.
The significance of the moment isn’t lost on either team. Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle reflected on the global impact and rarity of a Game 7 at this stage of the season:
“I’m very much looking forward to Game 7,” Carlisle said, via The Associated Press. “The last time we’ve had one of these in the Finals, I think, was ’16. These are special moments certainly for both teams but for our league, for the game, for the worldwide interest in the game. It’s a time to celebrate.”
The 2025 playoffs have been loaded with memorable storylines: veteran stars battling rising talent, defensive masterclasses, clutch plays – many from Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana’s standout guard – and a consistent display of elite-level team basketball.
What’s become clear, Amick notes, is that these Finals are a testament to the depth and overall quality of the NBA’s two most complete teams.
The Thunder, dominant from the season’s outset, finished the regular season at a stunning 68–14, with an elite +12.7 net rating. Their playoff path was ruthless: a sweep of Memphis, a grueling seven-game victory over Denver, and a five-game triumph against Minnesota to claim the Western Conference crown.
Sunday night, they’ll be playing in front of their home crowd after being blown out in Game 6 – their first failed attempt at clinching the title.
Meanwhile, the Pacers’ story is one of resilience and underdog grit. After a rocky 10–15 start, they surged to a 50–32 finish.
In the playoffs, they took down 2021 champions Milwaukee in five, toppled the top-seeded 64-win Cavaliers in five, and outlasted a red-hot New York team in six, the same Knicks team that had dethroned defending champions Boston.
As Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault put it, this Finals has been defined not just by skill, but by sheer determination and unity:
“It’s a contest of wills,” Daigneault told The Athletic. “I think the reason it swung between the two teams is because these are two teams that have leaned on that heavily to get to this point. It’s two teams where the whole is better than the sum of the parts. It’s two teams that are highly competitive. Two teams that play together. Two teams that kind of rely on the same stuff for their success that are squaring off against each other.”
Sunday’s Game 7 is more than just a finale; it’s the culmination of months of grit, sacrifice, and belief.
Whether it’s the Thunder capping off a historic campaign or the Pacers completing one of the greatest playoff runs ever, this is the kind of moment fans and players dream of.
NBA Finals Notes: Game 7, Thunder, Pacers, Predictions, More https://t.co/nvWgf8kFAC pic.twitter.com/LaPXv0YrOB
— Hoops Rumors (@HoopsRumors) June 22, 2025
