The Oklahoma City Thunder had just captured the 2024-2025 NBA championship, the very first chip for the franchise. However, they may have won the battle, but NBA fans are instead acknowledging the Indiana Pacers as the uncrowned champions. Here’s why.
The Thunder Aren’t That Formidable After All
The association has propped OKC as an excellent team, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as the best player in the league. They were constantly looked at as a defensive juggernaut and went even further than that after SGA won the MVP. Statistically, they were unparalleled on defense, and after winning 68 games in the regular season, Oklahoma City was expected to win it all.
It should have been easy, especially with a team that has an MVP (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander), an All-NBA, All-Star, All-Defensive guard (Jalen Williams), a 7-foot versatile big man (Chet Holmgren), and a bunch of reliable key players—but it wasn’t. The Denver Nuggets and Indiana Pacers both took the title favorites to seven games, and probably the only reason they survived was due to injuries.
They weren’t as dominant as what analysts say they were and were obviously very far from being a formidable team like the 2016 Golden State Warriors or the 2013 Miami Heat. The OKC Thunder were the favorites to win the Larry O’Brien trophy, but their path to that surely wasn’t easy.
What If … Tyrese Haliburton Didn’t Get Injured?
In the first quarter of game 7 of the NBA Finals, fans were shocked after seeing Tyrese Haliburton clutching his knees after an awkward slip. He was visibly in excruciating pain, which would later be known as a terrible Achilles injury that would disable him for the rest of the game. In just seven minutes, Haliburton already had 9 points on 3-of-4 shooting, all of which came from behind the arc.
Haliburton down on the floor was a major blow to the Pacers’ morale, but they still kept going and kept the game close even without their star point guard. Eventually, Indiana fell short in the final moments and lost in the finals.
Many fans are now talking about a huge question lingering in their minds – what if Haliburton wasn’t injured?
The former Kings guard was about to have a historic performance in the most crucial game of his career, however, that would be derailed by an unsettling injury. It is definitely a huge “what if”, considering how the Pacers were still able to keep up with the “best team” in the league in the biggest stage.
