Everything you need to know for the NBA Finals....

The NBA Finals begin tomorrow morning (AEST) with the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder meeting for Game 1 in the best-of-seven series. The first two matches will be played in Oklahoma before the teams relocate to Indiana for Games 3 and 4.

Pacers v Thunder

The Thunder are the favourites to win this series after proving themselves as the best team in the league with 68 wins from 82 games in the regular season, followed up by convincing wins in the playoffs.

By comparison, the Pacers had just 50 wins and came into the playoffs as the Eastern Conference’s fourth seed (of eight). The two teams met twice during the regular season, and the Thunder won both matches.

On their way to the NBA Finals, the top-seeded Thunder have eliminated the Memphis Grizzlies (8), the Denver Nuggets (4), and the Minnesota Timberwolves (6).

The Pacers beat the Milwaukee Bucks (5) before going on to upset the higher-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers (1) and New York Knicks (3).

Players to watch out for

You have read 0 articles this year.

Your contribution ensures The Daily Aus can continue doing the work you love.

The Pacers are led by two NBA All-Stars in Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam. Haliburton has proven especially useful for the Pacers with his incredible point-scoring ability in clutch moments. Siakam also brings NBA Finals experience after winning the championship with the Toronto Raptors in 2019.

The Thunder’s biggest weapon is without a doubt the league’s MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA). Through the playoffs, he has averaged 29.8 points and 6.9 assists per game. In addition to SGA’s attacking prowess, the Thunder are the top-ranked team in the league when it comes to defence.

History

The Pacers have never won an NBA championship, and this is their second opportunity after losing to the Lakers in the 2000 NBA Finals. If the Pacers do win, they will become the first fourth-seeded team in the current playoff format to do so. The 1995 Houston Rockets, who were the Western Conference sixth seed, are the only team seeded outside of the top three since 1987 to win the Finals.

The Thunder franchise last won an NBA championship as the Seattle SuperSonics in 1979. The franchise then relocated to Oklahoma City as the Thunder in 2008 and has made one finals appearance since, losing to the Miami Heat in the 2012 series.