THE Indiana Pacers are embracing the underdog label in the 2025 NBA Finals as they take on the Oklahoma City Thunder beginning on Thursday (Friday, Manila time).
Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton will settle for nothing other than a championship over the young Thunder team, winners of 68 games during the regular season, a squad who steamrolled their way to the finals with wins over the Memphis Grizzlies, Denver Nuggets, and Minnesota Timberwolves in the playoffs.
“They're a great team. They're historically great on both sides of the ball. They have the MVP. I mean, there's so many different things you could name down the list of why they are so great at what they do, why they're such a great team,” said Haliburton during media day in Oklahoma City, a transcription of which made available to international reporters.
“We know this is a great team. If we were to win a championship, I don't want to win any other way. I don't want to go around or over. I want to go through. You want to go through the best team, the best challenge. This is the best challenge. This is the best team in the NBA. It's been the best team in the NBA all year,” said Haliburton.
Games 1 and 2 will be played at the Paycom Center, known for its raucous environment during Thunder games, before shifting to the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis for the next two matches as it hosts an NBA finals for the first time in 25 years.
Tale of two brilliant coaches
Indiana coach Rick Carlisle is comfortable with their situation as underdogs in the series. Carlisle was also in a similar state in 2011 when the Dallas Mavericks faced LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.
The Mavericks won in six games.
Yes, Oklahoma City's a great team,” said Carlisle. “We’re aware what’s expected here. So, we’ve got a lot of work cut out for us. A lot of our guys have been through a lot of situations where they've been underdogs in the past. It’s simply going to come down to us being able to play our game at the best possible level.”
“We’re going to need to take care of the ball because these guys turn people over at an historic rate, and we're going to have to make some shots,” said Carlisle.
OKC Thunder coach Mark Daigneault is not taking their opponent lightly after the Pacers overcome East’s top seed Cleveland in the East semifinals, and New York in the conference finals under Carlisle’s watch.
“They’re well-coached. They just do everything so well. There’s no shortcuts to beating this team,” said Daigneault.
“We know the odds are stacked against us. It is what it is. We want to be here. We want to play against the best. This is the best. We look forward to the challenge as a group.”
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