NBA Finals: Biggest storylines, predictions for Thunder vs. Pacers

The Oklahoma City Thunder were the hottest NBA team all season.

The Oklahoma City Thunder were the hottest NBA team all season. The Indiana Pacers were the most unstoppable of the postseason's past month.

Now, they meet in the NBA Finals.

When Game 1 tips off Thursday in Oklahoma City, both teams will be ending long droughts — 12 years since the Thunder's last Finals appearance and a 25-year absence for the Pacers. Oklahoma City is chasing the franchise's first championship since it relocated from Seattle in 2008. Indiana won three ABA championships between 1970 and 1973 but has never replicated a title-winning season since it joined the NBA as part of its merger with the ABA in 1976.

The Thunder boast new Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, while the Pacers lean on their own star point guard, Tyrese Haliburton, but both teams are examples of the modern NBA, in which rosters built around depth, not just two or three All-Star players, have ruled.

Let's break down who and what could decide the 2025 NBA Finals.