What makes the 2025 NBA Finals so historic – and why a Game 7 was always written in the stars

The 2025 NBA Finals are heading to a dramatic conclusion. The Indiana Pacers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 108–91 in Game 6 to tie the series at 3-3 and force a decisive Game 7. The Thunder had the chance to seal the championship on Thursday, but Indiana’s win means the title will now be decided in the final game of the season.

Oklahoma City reached the Finals by dispatching the Minnesota Timberwolves 4-1 in the Western Conference Finals. The Pacers booked their place with a 4-2 victory over the New York Knicks in the East.

The last time the Thunder and Pacers were champions

This year’s Finals will produce a fresh name on the trophy. For the first time in NBA history, there will be seven different champions in seven consecutive seasons – a remarkable shift in a league where just seven franchises have claimed 77% of all titles.

Among the four teams that made the Conference Finals, only the Knicks had previously been crowned champions, back in 1973. But their campaign ended short of the big stage. The Timberwolves, Pacers and Thunder have never won a ring.

Indiana has never lifted the Larry O’Brien Trophy, while the Thunder franchise has yet to win a championship since relocating to Oklahoma City after the 2007–08 season. Although the Seattle SuperSonics – the team’s previous incarnation – were champions in 1979, the current franchise does not officially lay claim to that title.

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