My 2025 NBA Finals Predictions

June 4th, 2025

Tomorrow will be Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals. This year’s NBA Playoffs have produced fairly unexpected results, with the Boston Celtics being dethroned by the New York Knicks in the second round, who then lost to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals due to the stellar play of Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam, and in turn, the New York Knicks fired their long-time head coach Tom Thibodeau, whom some will deem to be a very controversial decision. And in the West, the Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round, and the Timberwolves ended up losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals, as the Thunder won a league best 68 games in the regular season, and have the 2025 NBA MVP in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, whose been performing at elite, peak levels this year.

Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Indiana Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton will square off against each other in the 2025 NBA Finals.
(Photo: Alonzo Adams/Imagn Images, via Sports Illustrated)

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder will square off against Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers. While this may not have been the matchup many have predicted at the onset of the playoffs, this has been a fun and entertaining postseason that will crown a new winner at the end of this series. But teams have been deserving of hoisting up that coveted Larry O’Brien Trophy, yet there can only be one winner. Who will it be? That will be decided on the court and in games, and I will aim to try to make an accurate and correct prediction in the meantime. So, without further ado, here is my prediction for this year’s NBA Finals.

Prediction: (1) Oklahoma City Thunder over the (4) Indiana Pacers in 7

The Indiana Pacers have been really fun to watch, and Tyrese Haliburton’s strong all-around play and Pascal Siakam’s dynamic offensive skill set and championship experience, alongside head coach Rick Carlisle’s championship experience makes the Pacers a formidable team and opponent for the Thunder. On the other hand, the Thunder on paper look to be the favorite, especially from a talent and depth perspective. Not only do the Thunder have the 2025 NBA MVP in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but they have a dynamic two-way big man in Chet Holmgren, as well as very solid perimeter players in Jalen Williams and Luguentz Dort. On top of that, the Thunder have a lot of depth, as their bench unit is led by Alex Caruso, Aaron Wiggins, and Cason Wallace, but the Pacers also have a good amount of depth as well, as their bench unit is led by Obi Toppin and Bennedict Mathurin.

It’s going to be a close call, and it is a possibility that the Thunder may be too young, but they have been a very talented team that could be primed to win the title. Whether if that will actually happen will be could be another story altogether.

All in all, it will be an exciting NBA Finals, and it will be interesting to see how it will play out this year. That’s all for now, and thanks for reading.