For the first time in 25 years … the Finals are back in Indiana.
5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀
June 11, 2025
Game 3 In Two Minutes: Everything you need to know ahead of this critical game
Finals Back In Indy: After 25 years, the Finals return to the “cradle of basketball”
What They’re Saying: Hear from the Pacers & Thunder from media day in Indy
On The Ground: All-access at media day with NBA correspondent Dyson Daniels
Unforgettable: How the 1994 NBA Finals inspired a generation of hoopers
1. GAME 3 IN 2 MINUTES: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
After a Game 1 stunner from Tyrese Haliburton and a Game 2 masterpiece from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Finals are level at 1-1 entering tonight’s Game 3 (8:30 ET, ABC).
Historically, the victor of Game 3 following a 1-1 start has gone on to win the series 80.5% of the time.
- The Stakes for OKC: The Thunder can reclaim home-court advantage with a win. They’re 4-3 on the road this postseason after going 32-8 as a visitor during the regular season
- The Stakes for Indy: Something will have to give for tonight’s hosts. The Pacers are 9-0 after a loss since March 11, but also 0-3 in Game 3s throughout the Playoffs
Nathaniel S. Butler & Zach Beeker/NBAE via Getty Images
Rewriting Records: Following his 34-point gem in Game 2, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has tallied 72 points for the series, setting the record for most points by a player across their first two Finals appearances.
Assembling Answers: Haliburton has made a habit of playing hero. But as a pass-first guard, his impact as a distributor has been equally – if not more – valuable when Indy needs a response.
- Stymied: In Games 1 and 2, Haliburton was held to 6 assists, limiting the team’s “ecosystem” offensive approach that’s yielded a league-high 84 games with 5+ double-figure scorers across the regular and postseason
- Feel The Flow: The Pacers are 8-1 this postseason when he dishes 10 or more, following a 26-7 mark registered during the regular season
- “There’s many different ways that you can choose to digest what’s in front of you, but we focus on taking it a day at a time,” Haliburton said. “You’ve got the split – you feel good about that.”
Reinforcements: The team that’s won the battle of the benches – Indy 39-28 in Game 1 and OKC 48-34 in Game 2 – has won each of the first two games of the Finals.
- Keeping Pace: In Game 1, Indy’s reserves shot 66.7% (8-of-12) from 3, led by Obi Toppin’s Playoff career-high five triples
- Dynamic Duo: In Game 2, Alex Caruso (20 pts, 4 3pm) and Aaron Wiggins (18 pts, 5 3pm) combined to hit nine of OKC’s 14 3s
Logan Riely/NBAE via Getty Images
What’s The Word: As a pivotal Game 3 nears, stories continue to circulate about the biggest stage in basketball. Here are a few of our favorite reads from around the NBA world:
- The Oklahoman: How historic has Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s start been in NBA Finals? Inside the numbers
- USA Today: Tyrese Haliburton going to film school to decode Thunder’s defense
- The Athletic: Tyrese Haliburton has a shot at Indiana immortality, an NBA ring and inner peace
- NBC News: NBA champions are usually built the same ways. Can the Pacers win by doing it differently?
- The Oklahoman: Aaron Wiggins, the man who saved basketball, saved Thunder in NBA Finals Game 2
- ESPN: Parenting and game plans: Inside Jenny Boucek’s extraordinary basketball journey to the Pacers
2. AFTER 25 YEARS, THE FINALS RETURN TO THE ‘CRADLE OF BASKETBALL’
Over the years, the state has produced Hall of Fame players and coaches – including Larry Bird, Oscar Robertson and John Wooden – that have elevated the game to new heights.
“In 49 states, it’s just basketball. But this is Indiana.”
This phrase has been seen and heard across the state for decades and was echoed by coach Rick Carlisle to a roaring applause after leading the Pacers past the rival Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals.
There is a palpable buzz around the city of Indianapolis as they get set to host Game 3 tonight, knowing that the franchise’s first NBA title is just three wins away.
- “We got the greatest basketball building on the planet.” – Carlisle on Gainbridge Fieldhouse, which was a brand-new arena the last time the Pacers reached the Finals in 2000
While the Pacers are in the Finals for the first time in a quarter century, we have to travel back more than a full century to trace the origin of this love affair between game and state.
Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images
Shortly after Dr. James Naismith invented the game in 1891 in Massachusetts, it made its way to Indiana – growing from local YMCA competitions to massive high school basketball tournaments, the IndyStar writes.
The game was well-suited for the agricultural state. Played indoors during the winter, it did not interfere with the region’s harvest season.
- “In a dark and lonely winter, the gym was a warm, noisy and well-lit place. For Indiana, basketball was a godsend.” – said author David Halberstam
When Naismith visited the Hoosier State in 1925 and attended the state tournament final in a packed gymnasium, he marveled at what the game he had invented to keep his students occupied in the cold winter months had grown to become.
- “The possibilities of basketball as seen here were a revelation to me.” – said Naismith
Brian Sevald/NBAE via Getty Images
Over the years, the state has produced Hall of Fame players and coaches – Larry Bird, Oscar Robertson, John Wooden – who have elevated the game to new heights.
- “If you’re from Indiana, people always think of you as playing basketball” – said Bird, a French Lick native who starred at Indiana State before becoming a three-time NBA champion with Boston and coach of the last Pacers team to reach the Finals
- “First and foremost, Indiana will always be a basketball state” – said Reggie Miller, the star of Indiana’s last Finals team, to USA Today in 2014. Miller may be a Southern California native, but he will forever be an honorary Hoosier
- “Hoosiers, they call them, they love the game of basketball” – said Tyrese Haliburton, the star of Indiana’s current Finals team, who is writing a legend of his own in this year’s Playoffs
3. WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: PACERS & THUNDER AHEAD OF GAME 3
The Finals opened in Oklahoma City tied at 0-0.
The Finals now open in Indianapolis tied at 1-1.
Ahead of tonight’s critical Game 3, the Pacers and Thunder took the court at Gainbridge Fieldhouse to work on adjustments and speak with the media about where the series stands as it resumes in Indiana.
- “They’ve been waiting 25 years for this, so they better bring the heat.” – Aaron Nesmith on what he expects from the home crowd
- “I want everyone to wear the shirts … There’s going to be ups and downs, but we have to do everything to win [Wednesday].” – Bennedict Mathurin on needing all of Indy behind them for Game 3
- “He is such a brilliant basketball mind… he’s really helped me learn how to watch film.” – Tyrese Haliburton on Pacers coach Rick Carlisle’s impact on his career
Messages To Myself: Indiana’s Pascal Siakam described what he would tell his younger self as he plays in his second Finals, while OKC’s Jalen Williams read a letter he wrote to himself during his rookie season Summer League.
- Siakam: “Believe in yourself no matter what… you are going to get an opportunity to do something special.”
- Williams: “He gave good advice. That’s very smart of me.” after reading his younger self’s words: “I know you’re locked in, stay the course.”
Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images
When the Thunder clinched the West to reach the Finals for the first time in 13 years, comparisons to the 2012 OKC squad featuring Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook & James Harden came fast and furious.
It’s something the 2025 Thunder have not shied away from in their pursuit of the first title in the franchise’s OKC era.
- “It’s more of a blessing and a dream come true.” – Williams when asked if he feels added pressure and motivation from the comparisons
- Meanwhile, SGA still thinks the Thunder can reach another level in these Finals: “We have not once yet played a perfect basketball game or had a perfect series.”
- “He’s got a lot of different things he can go to that can keep teams off balance.” – Thunder Coach Daigneault on Shai’s balanced offense making him so dangerous
- “He’s always doing the right thing, always competing.” – Daigneault on the leadership of Alex Caruso, a key player the Thunder added in the offseason
4. ON THE GROUND IN INDIANA WITH THE GREAT BARRIER THIEF
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This season, Hawks guard Dyson Daniels emerged as a defensive star – averaging three steals per game, a mark that had not been reached in over three decades.
Daniels was named the Kia Most Improved Player and was runner-up for the Kia Defensive Player of the Year after his breakout season.
So, how is he spending his summer? By serving as an NBA correspondent at the Finals. He was on hand at Tuesday’s media day to dive into this matchup and ask questions from a player’s perspective.
- Goldfish At 60: Daniels asked Tyrese Haliburton about his mental preparation and how his game day routine for a Finals game compares to the rest of the season
- Championship Experience: Daniels asked Alex Caruso how he inspires his teammates as a veteran leader and the only NBA champ on the Thunder roster
- The Finals, But Make It Fashion: Jalen Williams revealed who’s the best dressed player on the Thunder to Daniels
Finals Ties: Daniels was able to catch up with three players with whom he shares a unique connection.
- Defensive Dynamos: who has the superior nickname between the Dorture Chamber (Lu Dort) and the Great Barrier Thief (Daniels)?
- Making Leaps: The 2024-25 MIP (Daniels) asked the 2018-19 MIP (Siakam) about his journey to earning Most Improved honors
- Former & Formative Teammates: Daniels and Benn Mathurin discussed their time as teammates in the NBA Academy and how it helped them reach the league
5. UNFORGETTABLE: HOW THE ’94 FINALS INSPIRED A GENERATION OF HOOPERS
Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images
As the Finals bring the game back to its Indiana roots tonight, we’re reminded of how far the game has grown globally – how players competing on the Finals stage can inspire people from across the world to embrace the game and its possibilities.
The 2025 Finals matchup is a showcase for the game’s global growth, featuring 11 international players from four different continents:
- North America (4): Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luguentz Dort, Bennedict Mathurin and Andrew Nembhard represent Canada
- Europe (4): Isaiah Hartenstein (Germany), Ousmane Dieng (France), Ajay Mitchell (Belgium) and Nikola Topić (Serbia)
- Australia (2): Alex Ducas and Johnny Furphy
- Africa (1): Pascal Siakam (Cameroon)
One example of that inspiration is Chippy Redd, a professional hooper overseas and a basketball content creator — who recalls how the center matchup in the 1994 Finals was a pivotal moment in his hoops journey.
“Most people remember the 1994 NBA Finals as the Battle of the Bigs between two Hall of Fame centers, Patrick Ewing and Hakeem Olajuwon. But what most people don’t know is that those Finals inspired a whole new generation of hoopers.
“You see, Patrick Ewing was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica until he was 13 and moved to the States. My parents had made the same journey, so to see a fellow Jamaican representing in the Finals had a huge impact on not only me but my community.
“I was only a baby, but those Finals literally turned my family into basketball fans. And growing up, I watched the tape of that Game 7 year after year, hearing the stories of the great Patrick Ewing putting on for the country.
“I could sense their pride watching a fellow Jamaican immigrant conquering the Big Apple. My family even came up with a chant specifically for those Finals: ‘Patrick Ewing, we miss you.’
“Even though the Knicks lost in those Finals, competing for the ultimate prize on the biggest stage sparked something in the basketball community of Jamaica, a country typically known for cricket and soccer. In fact, Patrick himself played both until he came to the States and picked up basketball.
“Patrick and the Knicks introduced my family to the game, and they passed it down to me. It helped me earn a college education and a nine year career overseas.
“Nowadays, you’ll see many NBA players with Jamaican heritage, Nick Richards, Norman Powell, the Thompson twins, and a lot of that can be traced back to one chase for the Larry O’Brien Trophy and the 1994 matchup between the Knicks and the Rockets.”
