Darren & Vic's Playoff Playbook

Published: Saturday, June 7, 2025

by Darren Worrell and Victor Lisboa

For more than 77 years, each organization across the NBA fights yearly for their right to hoist the coveted Larry O’Brien trophy. This year’s NBA Finals features the top seeded Oklahoma City Thunder and the sixth seeded Indiana Pacers. Two teams that have been to the finals before but have not been fortunate enough to emerge on the winning side. However, for one of those teams, that will change this year. In this edition of Darren & Vic’s Playoff Playbook, we preview the 2025 NBA Finals, one nobody would have predicted, but possibly the matchup that the NBA needed. 

INDIANA PACERS 
The last time the Pacers made it to the NBA Finals was in 2000, and during that time, Reggie Miller was the star of the team. Although 25 years ago, that Pacers run to the Finals is very similar to this year’s Pacers road to the Finals. For instance, in both years, they made it to the Eastern Conference Finals and had to face the New York Knicks. Both times they beat them in six games to advance to the Finals. Yet, now there is a new face of the franchise, and that is Tyrese Haliburton. The NBA Faithful has labelled him as “overrated” countless times, but he has proven why he must be taken seriously all season long, and especially in the playoffs. In the first round, the Pacers knocked off a Milwaukee Bucks team that had Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo, two of the best players in the NBA, in just five games. Then in round two, they knocked off the top seeded team in the East, the Cleveland Cavaliers, in just five games as well. Haliburton hit one of his multiple go-ahead shots in Game 2 of that series to give Indiana a 2-0 series lead. And then in the Conference Finals, they defeated the Knicks in six games, including a pivotal comeback win in game 1, led by Haliburton. With one of the wildest shots in playoff history, it was Haliburton’s step-back jumper that almost sealed the game, but was instead reviewed and ruled a two-pointer to send the game to overtime.  The Knicks did win two games in this series, but after the game 1 win, the Pacers' confidence grew, knowing that they were capable of overcoming any deficit. And while Haliburton has emerged as the star, Indiana’s success has been a full team effort. Despite being one of the youngest teams in the league, they’ve stayed hyper focused, and with championship-winning coach Rick Carlisle at the helm, this squad is legit. In some ways, the pressure is on Oklahoma City. The Pacers are playing free, confident, and with nothing to lose. That makes them the most dangerous kind of underdog.

OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
In 2005, after the notorious Hurricane Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans, the New Orleans Hornets needed a place to play while the city recovered from damages. That was when the NBA realized that Oklahoma City had the capacity and perhaps the hunger to host their own team, as fans still filled the arena for a team that wasn’t considered theirs. On July 2, 2008, the Seattle Supersonics officially became the Oklahoma City Thunder. This was one of the most significant moments in the modern NBA, as the Sonics were one of the most beloved franchises in the sport, but the city of Seattle was unwilling to continue funding the arena, fueling the relocation to Oklahoma City. However, as beloved as the Sonics may have been, in their now 17-year history, the Thunder are now one of the most beloved and popular franchises in the league, as it is considered the only major sports team in Oklahoma City. Since the relocation, the Thunder have made five Western Conference Finals, now their second appearance in the NBA Finals, and have produced 3 MVPs. Now, the 2025 Thunder squad has emerged again, earning the league’s best regular season record with an impressive 68 wins, and has done so with the NBA’s youngest team. They also have the league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and an outstanding and youthful supporting cast, presenting themselves as a formidable force in the Western Conference for years to come. In control is Sam Presti, the franchise’s General Manager since 2007. He was 29 at the time and the second youngest GM ever. Since he’s taken over, Presti has developed an impressive resume, keeping the team competitive and in contention for nearly two decades. After winning executive of the year in 2025, Presti have their sights set on the priority, and that is to earn their first championship in franchise history.

In an NBA Finals between two small market teams, this year’s matchup has much on the line and could be either team’s trophy by the end of June. It will not be long before we find out which team will win the first championship in the history of their franchise.

Darren Worrell and Victor Lisboa can be reached at darren.worrell@student.shu.edu, victor.lisboa@student.shu.edu 

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