The NBA Finals 2025: A Matchup of the ages
Headlining the finals were two scoring Juggernauts: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA) and Tyrese Haliburton
How the NBA Playoffs is formatted: In the NBA, there are two conferences, the eastern and the western. The top eight teams on each conference that won the most games go on to the playoffs. The number one team faces the number eight team, the number two team faces the number seven team, the number three team faces the number six team, and the number four team faces the number five team. Each team faces of in a series of 7 game where the first team to four wins, win the series. The two teams that win all the series’ on both sides face off in a final series. The winner is titled the champion of the league.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder:
Heading into the finals, Shai was to be feared. He was a 3x All-Star, MVP (Most Valuable Player), scoring leader, 3x All-NBA First team member, and would do anything in his power to lead his team to a championship. His constant efforts during the regular season led his team to number one spot in the league with a record of 68 wins and 14 losses. In the playoffs, the Thunder swept Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round, beat 3x MVP Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets in Game 7 of the second round, and won the conference finals in 5 games against Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander would win the Western Conference MVP.
Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers:
The Pacers weren’t only the underdogs of the Finals, but the playoffs as a whole. Their path to the finals would be rough, with many obstacles to go through, but Haliburton and his team were ready for the challenge. In the first round, they had to go through 2x MVP and NBA Champion Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks. In Game 5 of the NBA Finals, the Pacers were up 3-1 and were ready to eliminate their opponents. It was overtime and the Pacers were down by one with the clocking ticking down to end the game. Tyrese Haliburton took the ball, ran by Giannis and took a driving layup to win the game. After being down by 20 earlier in the game, the win lighted a fire in their bodies that would continue for the rest of the playoffs. In the second round, they were matched up with the Cleveland Cavaliers who had the best record in their conference. In Game 2 of the series, the time was ticking down on the clock and the pacers had the ball down 119-117, Tyrese Haliburton took a step-back three pointer and hit another game winner which was a key moment in the series that they would win in 5 games. Then, was the conference finals and the Pacers would be facing the New York Knicks and the time was ticking down yet again. With the Pacers down 125-123, the ball was in the hands of Haliburton. He took a step-back shot, but it bounced up way over the rim, and when all hope seemed lost, the ball fell right back into the rim. However, his foot was on the three point line resulting in it being only a two-pointer and the game going to overtime. The Pacers take game one and the whole series in Game 6. They were on to the Finals.
The Finals: In Game one of the finals, it was a close, head to head game. In the fourth quarter, the Oklahoma City Thunder were 110-109 with time running out, Pacers gave the ball to Tyrese Haliburton and trusted him to win them the game. And he did. He took a fadeaway jumper over Thunder’s Alex Caruso and the Pacers won game one. In Game two, the Oklahoma City Thunder stopped the momentum beating them by 16 points led by a 34 point game by SGA. The series seemed to be going back and forth with the Pacers winning game 3 and 6 and the Thunder winning game 4 and 5. It all came down to game seven. In the beginning of the game, Tyrese Haliburton started out hot, making three three pointers in the first 5 minutes alone. It seemed like he couldn’t be stopped until the unthinkable happened. Tyrese Haliburton started to drive into the paint but fell unusually. He was on the floor, with his eyes filled with pain, due to what would end up being a torn achilles. Without their star player, the Indiana Pacers tried to fight through the setback, but it wasn’t enough. The Oklahoma City Thunder won the finals 103-91 and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won the Finals MVP becoming to 4th person all time to be the regular season MVP, win the scoring title, and win the Finals MVP.
