Pacers, Thunder got to the NBA Finals fueled by doubters. A title will give 1 team the last laugh

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — In these NBA Finals, a team is four wins away from getting the last laugh.

Ask anyone on the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers if they’re still fueled by doubters, and the answer is probably going to be an immediate “yes.” Thunder star and NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander went 11th in his draft. Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton went 12th in his. Both sides have undrafted players in their rotation.

Here they are: The NBA Finals, which start Thursday night in Oklahoma City. The Thunder have, by far, the NBA’s best record this season. The Pacers have the league’s second-best record since Jan. 1, including playoffs. And both teams have rolled through the postseason, going 12-4 in the first three rounds.

“I’ll continue to tell you guys in certain moments that it doesn’t matter what people say, but it matters — and I enjoy it,” Haliburton said. “I think the greats try to find external motivation as much as they can and that’s something that’s always worked for me.”

It’s not like more motivation is needed. Not for the next couple of weeks, anyway. Indiana is chasing its first NBA title. Oklahoma City — technically — is also seeking its first; the franchise won a championship when it played in Seattle in 1979. These are teams that combined to win 49 games just three seasons ago, and now they’re the last two standing.

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“Staying true to who we are is the reason why we’re here,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We’d be doing ourselves a disservice if we changed or tried to be something we’re not once we got here. We’ve had success doing so. If we want to keep having success, we have to be who we are. It’s organic. It’s nothing we have to think about or force. It’s just who we are, no matter the moment.”

The Thunder are enormous favorites in the series, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, and understandably so. They’re 80-18 including the regular season and postseason, plus went 29-1 in the regular season against the Eastern Conference and have more double-digit wins — 61 and counting — than any team in any season in NBA history.

“We’ve got a lot of work cut out for us,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “A lot of our guys have been through a lot of situations where they’ve been underdogs in the past. It’s simply going to come down to us being able to play our game at the best possible level. We’re going to need to take care of the ball because these guys turn people over at an historic rate, and we’re going to have to make some shots.”

The Thunder want no part of hearing this series will be easy. The way Indiana — a No. 4 seed in the East — got through Giannis Antetokounmpo and Milwaukee in Round 1, a top-seeded Cleveland team in Round 2 and New York in Round 3 and never faced an elimination game has captured Oklahoma City’s full attention.

“Their attack is very simple. The theoretical way to stop it is simple,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “In reality it’s very difficult to do, as you can see from the way that they’ve really had their way with everybody. ... They pump a 99 mph fastball at you. You can prepare all you want for that. When you’re in the batter’s box, it’s different when it’s time to hit it.”

Young Thunder

The Thunder are the youngest team to make the NBA Finals in 48 years, according to data provided by the league. With an average age of about 25 years and seven months, they’re the youngest finalist since Portland in 1977.

That said, hearing about it is getting, well, old.

“Young or not, when you can learn from whatever situation you’re thrown in, that makes you better,” Thunder guard Jalen Williams said. “I think that’s why we’re here in this moment.”

Busy OKC

There will be a Game 1 in Oklahoma City on Thursday night — and a Game 2 on Thursday night as well.

At Paycom Center, there’s Game 1 of the NBA Finals. And Devon Park, about a 15-minute drive away from the Thunder home floor, will play host to Game 2 of the Women’s College World Series between Texas and Texas Tech that same night.

If the softball facility — which will be the site of games at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics — is filled, that means about 32,000 people will be watching championship games in Oklahoma City on Thursday.

Past finals

There are four players on these teams with previous NBA Finals experience.

Indiana’s Pascal Siakam averaged 19.8 points in six games with Toronto, helping the Raptors win the title in 2019. Oklahoma City’s Alex Caruso averaged 6.3 points in six games with the Los Angeles Lakers, helping them past Miami in the bubble finals of 2020.

Indiana’s Thomas Bryant got in one game of Denver’s 2023 finals win over Miami, and the Pacers’ Aaron Nesmith played for Boston in the Celtics’ loss to Golden State in the 2022 finals.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba