The countdown to Game 7 is on.
We’re less than 36 hours out from the Thunder & Pacers deciding a champion in the final game of the 2024-25 season. (Sunday, 8 ET on ABC)
5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀
June 21, 2025
One Day Away: The 2024-25 NBA season comes down to a single game
Game 7 History: The Thunder & Pacers will add their story to Finals lore
Game 7 Frames: A look back at the last seven Game 7s in the NBA Finals
Team & Town: The special bond the Thunder & Pacers share with their cities
Unforgettable: “Big Game James” Worthy delivers with a Game 7 triple-double
BUT FIRST … ⏰
One more sleep until Game 7…
As the Thunder and Pacers make their final preparations for Sunday’s Game 7 (8 ET, ABC), they’ll hold the final media day of the season, beginning at 1:30 ET and streamed live on the NBA App.
1. GAME 7, 2025 NBA FINALS, LESS THAN 36 HOURS OUT
After 1,313 games – 1,230 in the regular season and 83 more in the Playoffs – the 2024-25 NBA season comes down to one single game.
Game 7. NBA Finals.
Pacers at Thunder. Sunday (8 ET, ABC).
It’s been nine years since the stakes have been so straightforward.
- The victor receives the Larry O’Brien Trophy and the glory of calling themselves a champion for the rest of their lives
- The other walks away empty-handed, holding the frustration of knowing they were so close to making history
- “It’s one game for everything you ever dreamed of,” said Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Thursday. “If you win it, you get everything. If you lose it, you get nothing. It’s that simple.”
The Thunder and Pacers are building a rivalry in front of our very eyes with a Finals that has delivered thrilling moments through the first six games – with only seven points separating the two teams.
There is a mutual respect as they get ready for an epic Game 7 finale.
- Indiana Coach Rick Carlisle: “We’re playing the best team on the planet. They have proven that the entire year, and we have got to play at such a high level for us to have a chance.”
- OKC Coach Mark Daigneault: “Indiana is a great team. We don’t underestimate great teams.”
But only one team will deliver the first NBA championship to their city.
- Can the Thunder stamp their season of dominance – a league-high and franchise-record 68 wins and the highest point differential in NBA history – with the ultimate prize?
- Can the Pacers finish off their magical run – a remarkable midseason turnaround and a Playoff run highlighted by five massive comebacks – with one final rally in the championship series?
There’s been a buzz around the NBA waiting for these answers as the 20th Game 7 in Finals history draws near.
Here are a few of our favorite reactions via social media:
- Tas Melas: Basketball is a great sport.
- Lethal Shooter: Now this is NBA BASKETBALL!!!! This NBA FINALS HAVE BEEN AMAZING!!!
- Nate Jones: What a series
- Ben Axelrod: Regardless of what happens from here, this has been an all-time NBA Finals from an entertainment standpoint.
- Chris Vernon: See ya Sunday!
- Eddie Radosevich: Game 7. Oklahoma City. I want to earn it.
- Steve Jones Jr.: Monday June 19th 2000, the Lakers beat the Pacers to win the NBA Finals 4-2. Thursday June 19th 2025, the Pacers beat the Thunder to push the NBA Finals to a Game 7.
- Pat McAfee: Man… LET’S GO PACERS
- Big Cat: I appreciate the Pacers giving us something to look forward to on Sunday night. What a performance
- Robert Griffin III: NBA Finals Game 7. First one since 2016. Getting your popcorn ready because it will be JUMPING in OKC.
- Kevin O’Connor: Basketball is so beautiful
- Dom2K: We getting the first finals game 7 in almost 10 years 🙏🙏
Coming out of Game 6, check out a few reads from around the NBA.
- Sports Illustrated: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on OKC’s mindset: ‘One game for all the marbles’
- ESPN: Pacers riding high, not celebrating Game 6 rout
- Yahoo Sports: A ‘total team effort’ from Indy
- WaPo: T.J. McConnell, smallest player on floor, biggest X-factor
- The Athletic: Pacers blow out Thunder to force first NBA Finals Game 7 in nine years
2. PACERS-THUNDER READY TO JOIN FINALS GAME 7 HISTORY
The 20th chapter in the Game 7 lore of the NBA Finals will be written by the Thunder and Pacers on Sunday night.
Of the first 78 NBA champions crowned, only 19 did so in a winner-take-all Game 7.
Sunday’s clash will be the first Finals Game 7 since 2016, when the Cavaliers completed the first 3-1 comeback in Finals history with a win over the Warriors at Golden State.
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Tyrese Haliburton were both still in high school when “Blocked by James!” and “Kyrie Irving from downtown!” were etched into NBA history
- Nine years later, the two All-NBA guards will look to add their own stories to the record books
- “There’s nothing like a Game 7 in the NBA Finals,” said Haliburton on Thursday. “Dreamed of being in this situation my whole life.”
Haliburton and SGA have only been alive for four NBA Finals Game 7s and now will be at the epicenter of the fifth such game since 2000.
For Shai & the Thunder, Game 7 is the opportunity to cement themselves among the greatest teams in NBA history.
- A win would be their 84th of the season – a number only reached by three other teams ever: the 2015-16 Warriors (88), 1995-96 Bulls (87) & 1996-97 Bulls (84)
- SGA can become the first player since Steph Curry in 2015 – and the 15th overall & 24th instance – to win regular-season MVP and the title in the same season
- The Thunder would become the second youngest team in NBA history to win a title, trailing only the 1977 Portland Trail Blazers
For Tyrese & the Pacers, Game 7 is the chance to pull off one final comeback in a postseason filled with monumental rallies and late-game heroics.
- Down 3-2 in Game 6, the Pacers didn’t just stave off elimination, they rejected it like Dikembe Mutombo blocking a shot into the third row while wagging his finger
- One more win would make Indiana the first 4-seed to ever win the title (since Playoff expansion in 1984)
- It would cap off a historic turnaround as Indy would be the first team below .500 through the first 20 games of the season to go on to win the title
Only seven total points separate the Thunder and Pacers as they enter Game 7 – a margin only matched five times in Finals history.
- In the first 19 Game 7s in Finals history, nine were decided by five points or less, with an average margin of victory of just 6.9 points
- With every possession holding the highest stakes, which players will deliver on the grandest stage in the basketball world?
3. GAME 7 FRAMES: ONE GAME FOR A CHAMPIONSHIP
As we get ready for the first Finals Game 7 in nearly a decade, here’s a look back at the most recent seven Game 7s, dating back to 1984 – the first year of the expanded Playoffs.
2016 (Cavs 93, Warriors 89): LeBron’s block and Kyrie’s game-winning 3 helped the Cavs stun the 73-win Warriors | Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images
2013 (Heat 95, Spurs 88): After Ray Allen’s 3 saved Miami in Game 6, LeBron James (37 pts, 12 reb) led the Heat to their second straight title in Game 7 | Garrett Ellwood & Mike Ehrmann/NBAE via Getty Images
2010 (Lakers 83, Celtics 79): Ron Artest’s clutch 3-pointer lifted the Lakers past the rival Celtics for back-to-back titles | Christian Petersen/Getty Images
2005 (Spurs 81, Pistons 74): Tim Duncan (25 pts, 11 reb) led San Antonio to its third title in seven years | Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images
1994 (Rockets 90, Knicks 84): Hakeem Olajuwon (25 pts, 10 reb, 7 ast, 3 blk, 1 stl) led Houston past New York, bringing the franchise its first title | Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images
1988 (Lakers 108, Pistons 105): “Big Game James” Worthy saved his only career triple-double for a Game 7 win. | Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images | See more in Section 5 ⬇️
1984 (Celtics 111, Lakers 102): Cedric Maxwell (24 pts, 8 reb, 8 ast) led six Celtics in double figures as Boston’s balance helped defeat the Lakers | Dick Raphael/NBAE via Getty Images
4. HOME-COURT ADVANTAGE: THE BOND BETWEEN TEAM & TOWN
Dylan Buell/Getty Images
On Thursday, the Pacers sent the Indiana faithful inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse home with a win in their final home game of the season.
On Sunday, the Thunder will try to do the same for the OKC fans inside Paycom Center for the final game of the 2024-25 NBA season.
The Thunder earned Game 7 on their home court through their regular-season dominance, with a league-best 68 wins, including 35 at home.
Entering Sunday’s season finale, the Thunder are 10-2 at home in the Playoffs, and making more history in the process.
- The Thunder are +247 at home, which would be the largest home point differential in a Playoffs in NBA history
- On the road, they are -67. That 314 point difference is the largest home/away disparity in NBA history
- In three Finals games at Paycom Center, the Thunder have led for 136:57 minutes compared to 2:55 for the Pacers
- “The crowd has been amazing all year. Like there’s a real home-court advantage in this arena, like no matter who comes in the building,” said Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. “Best fans in the world. They let us know it every night. We feel it.”
Morgan Givens/NBAE via Getty Images
Home teams are 15-4 in Game 7s in NBA Finals history.
While the Thunder look to push that mark to 16-4, the Pacers will try to join the 1969 & 1974 Celtics, 1978 Bullets and 2016 Cavs as the only road teams to clinch the title with a Game 7 road win.
- The Pacers are 7-4 on the road in this Playoffs. A win in Game 7 would tie them for the second most road wins in a single postseason (last done by the 2022 Celtics)
- “I think that our city, our fans, are as hungry for this as we are as players,” said Haliburton of the people in his basketball-crazed state
- “They’re really into the game, which is rare for a crowd. I think Indy’s is that way too, so it’s been two really cool atmospheres to be in,” said Jalen Williams
There’s a bond between these teams and their respective cities that goes beyond the 48 minutes on the court in any given game. Williams recalled Thunder fans waiting to greet the team at the airport after Game 6.
- “For them to be outside the gate at like 2 or 3 am and greet us and be excited is super dope. It’s special and it’s something that we’re definitely playing for. We always have in the back of our mind, how lucky we are – and I am – to be here.”
OKC Thunder via Instagram
Both the Thunder and Pacers punched their tickets to the NBA Finals at home, allowing their fans to celebrate the moment and the accomplishment with them.
- “I wanted them to be able to see it unfold in front of their eyes. I wanted them to be able to celebrate tonight in our building.” – SGA after OKC’s Game 5 win over Minnesota
- “I just wanted to make sure, above all, that I could give my energy and my effort to try to get these fans what they deserve.” – SGA continued
- “Y’all been rocking with me for 10 years now, man. I got nothing but love and respect for this city, this team, this organization … we got four more to bring it home.” – Myles Turner addressing the crowd after Indy’s Game 6 win over NY
- “This team thrives on adversity. Honestly, the city thrives in adversity. We’re constantly overlooked… But we’re resilient.” – he continued to the roar of the crowd
5. UNFORGETTABLE: ‘BIG GAME JAMES’ DELIVERS IN GAME 7
Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images
“I’m guaranteeing everybody here, next year we’re gonna win it again.”
That brash declaration from coach Pat Riley at the Lakers’ 1987 championship parade set the bar for the 1987-88 Lakers to chase.
It had been 19 years since the NBA had seen a repeat champion, but that didn’t stop Riley from challenging his team to do what hadn’t been done since 1968-69.
How did the Lakers respond?
They finished a league-best 62-20 in the regular season, swept San Antonio in the first round and survived two seven-game series with Utah and Dallas to reach the Finals for a showdown with the Detroit Pistons.
Trailing 3-2 as the series shifted back to L.A. for Games 6 and 7, the Lakers overcame an inspired performance from Isiah Thomas – scoring 25 points in the 3rd quarter on a sprained ankle – to win Game 6 and force a winner-take-all Game 7.
In the biggest game of the season, it wasn’t three-time Finals MVP Magic Johnson or two-time Finals MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar that played the hero.
It was Big Game James Worthy, who recorded the only triple-double in his entire career (36 pts, 16 reb, 10 ast) to lead the Lakers to a 108-105 win in Game 7.
The win earned Worthy Finals MVP honors, and proved Riley’s proclamation from the previous summer true.
Years later, Worthy reflected on his mindset entering the game and the zone he reached during his masterpiece.
“Being down 3-2 against the Pistons, no matter where you play, it’s got to make you think about what your destiny may be…
“We felt confident coming back home. We had two games at home, so we knew we could pull this off, especially after we got that Game 6.
“And from my perspective, Magic and Kareem, they have carried the Lakers so many years and won so many championships that I really felt like it was my turn to help my teammates out.
“I had to step it up. And in ‘88, after winning in ‘85 and ‘87, I just felt like I felt my Junior year in college. I felt like it was my turn, and I tried to play to that level…
“When you’re in a zone like that, you just feel unstoppable. Everything kind of slows down, and you don’t get tired. And no matter who’s in front of you, you feel like you can take them.
“You almost feel like you’re hypnotized. And nothing fazes you. You don’t hear the crowd. You’re just into sweat equity at that moment
“It’s just what you live for in those moments, in a Game 7 like that.”
