The Indiana Pacers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder might not be the NBA Finals that anyone predicted or wanted, especially leaving teams like the Knicks, Celtics, Rockets and Lakers in their wake — but damn if it isn’t the Finals we need.
Not only do these Finals represent a reality where small market teams can win championships, but we’ll either see Indiana win its first NBA championship ever, or the Thunder’s first since the Seattle Supersonics won in 1979. That makes it a fascinating matchup in its own right, but factor in the Thunder’s incredible defense, the transcendent guard play of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Tyrese Haliburton, and sprinkle in some Pascal Siakam — it’s going to be a series to remember.
How much do you remember about the last time each of these teams went to the NBA Finals? It’s been 25 years since Indiana was in the finals, 13 years for the Thunder, and it’s a great chance to take a stroll down memory road.
The 1999-00 Indiana Pacers
The Pacers had some hype behind them entering the 1999-00 season, but it wasn’t a lot. Preseason rankings had Indiana at +1000 to win the NBA championship, third in the East behind the New York Knicks (+800) and Miami Heat (+800) in the East.
This was a very West-dominant time in the NBA, with Shaq and Kobe starting their time together on the Lakers, Tim Duncan and David Robinson soaring over opponents in San Antonio — but it was Portland who had the most hype behind them to win the championship. Those 1999-00 Blazers were seen as near-unbeatable with a roster of Rasheed Wallace, Damon Stoudamire, and Steve Smith, as their primary scorers — paired with the rock solid defense of Scottie Pippen and Avydas Sabonis. Round it out with a bench of Detlef Schrempf, Bonzi Wells, and a 21-year-old Jermaine O’Neal and there was nothing that team couldn’t do.
For all the hyper Portland had it was the stunning achievements of the Pacers in the East that season which blew everyone away. This was year three of one of the wildest short-term coaching stints in NBA history: Larry Bird. It was an Indiana homecoming for Bird, and he promised Donnie Walsh in 1997 that he would become the Pacers’ coach, but he would only coach for three years and then wanted a front office role in the organization.
It was a big ask for a guy with no coaching experience, but Bird was an absolutely phenomenal coach. He led Indiana to a franchise-best 58-24 his first year, dominated a lockout-shortened 1998-99, and knowing this would be Larry’s last run the team went big, winning the NBA Central Conference with a record of 56-26. This was the final of three straight Eastern Conference Finals appearances for Indiana, and they had a fascinating team to do it with.
The starting five for the majority of the season was:
PG: Mark Jackson
SG: Reggie Miller
SF: Jalen Rose
PF: Dale Davis
C: Rik Smits
This was such a well constructed team. Jackson was an assist machine, Jalen Rose was the slasher who won Most Improved Player, and you had the shooting brilliance of Reggie Miller. It wasn’t just Reggie either, because this Pacers team could shoot. Both Miller and Jackson averaged over 40% from beyond the arc, Rose wasn’t far behind them at 39.3%. If that wasn’t enough the team had so much depth with Austin Croshere, Travis Best, and Chris Mullin off the bench that it essentially allowed Bird’s team to play the identical brand of three-and-D basketball, no matter what their lineup consisted of.
These Pacers were so far ahead of their time. Nobody in the NBA shot threes more efficiently than Indiana did in 1999-00, finishing 1st in the league with a 39.2% percentage as a team.
In the Eastern Conference Finals the Pacers met the Knicks for the second year in a row. This time Larry and Co. were able to contain Latrell Sprewell, Allen Houston, Larry Johnson and Patrick Ewing — winning the series 4-2. In a fun piece of basketball trivia the last time the Pacers went to the NBA Finals they eliminated the Knicks, who had Rick Brunson playing a rotational role. In 2025 they beat with Knicks with Rick’s son Jalen Brunson as their star player.
This was truly a Cinderella season for the Pacers, but unfortunately they ran into a buzzsaw. Those aforementioned Lakers? Yeah, they came into their own at the wrong time. Shaq was an absolute monster in the playoffs, averaging 30.7 points, 15.4 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game. Kobe Bryant really stepped up and assumed a leadership role, while the depth was off the charts with Glen Rice and Ron Harper to put it all together.
It was the first of the Lakers’ three-peat, but that shouldn’t distract from appreciating just how amazing those 1999-00 Pacers were in Larry’s final year as head coach.
The 2011-12 Oklahoma City Thunder
Fast-forward 12 years and the Oklahoma City Thunder are in their fourth season since relocating from Seattle. Years of mediocrity allowed for high draft picks, which in turn caused the Thunder to build one of the most staggering rosters in NBA history — one that even causes your eyes to go wide when you look at it today.
Surging to a 55-27 record on the season, the Thunder’s roster contained no fewer than three future Hall of Fame players:
PG: Russell Westbrook
SG: Thabo Sefolosha
SF: Kevin Durant
PF: Serge Ibaka
C: Kendrick Perkins
6th man: James Harden
It might seem weird to see Harden on the bench in his third season, but he was total offensive overkill in the starting five for this team — because there just wasn’t enough ball to go around. Westbrook and Durant both averaged over 20 points per game, with Sefolosha, Ibaka, and Perkins basically all being defensive experts designed to create as many stops as possible so Westbrook and Durant could take over.
Then when the Thunder finally rotated out one or both of their scorers, Harden would step in off the bench where he average 16.8 points. It was an embarrassment of riches for coach Scott Brooks, and this was all a product of wunderkind Sam Presti, who literally did not have a single misstep in his early career as general manager. In three drafts he took Durant, Westbrook, Ibaka, and Harden — forging the entire superstar nucleus of his team in three classes.
The only problem this team had was that they were a little young for the moment. Well, that and the fact that they happened to head into a matchup with one of the greatest teams of the last 20 years. Yes, it was the Miami Heat superteam of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. Fresh off an NBA Finals loss to the Mavericks the previous year, the big three felt the need to assert themselves as class of the league, and nothing was going to stop them.
Durant and Westbrook absolutely balled out for the Thunder, but Harden didn’t have as much of an impact off the bench — and defensively Oklahoma City couldn’t stop the Heat’s depth as Shane Battier and Mario Chalmers stepped up to become scorers and take Miami to a five-deep scoring rotation, while the Thunder really only had three guys.
It ended up being a 1-4 series loss for Oklahoma City, as the Heat would go back-to-back.
There’s shared DNA here
The 2024-25 Thunder and Pacers are both organically grown teams, much like their counterparts when they went to the finals last time. Neither was created through free agency, but by stellar drafting and smart trades along the way. Both of them won big by trading Paul George.
Both teams were stopped in the finals by juggernauts. The Pacers by Shaq and Kobe teaming up, the Thunder by the union of LeBron, D-Wade, and Bosh. This time that won’t happen. We have two incredible teams, both coached extremely well — and this time one of them is actually going to come out on top.
