The odds are against them, but are they really? With the Indiana Pacers protecting their home court in Game 6 of the 2025 NBA Finals in a decisive 108-91 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder, it all comes down to Game 7. That winner-take-all Game 7 will be in Oklahoma City on Sunday, June 22. Even though the Thunder opened as a nine-point favorite, they do not have this key stat in their favor.
Nate Duncan listed all the teams that were down 3-2 in the NBA Finals that ended up winning Game 6 to force a Game 7 in the last 20 years. The 2024-25 Pacers are the fourth team to pull that off, joining the 2009-10 Los Angeles Lakers, the 2012-13 Miami Heat and the 2015-16 Cleveland Cavaliers, all of whom went on to win Game 7 and thus, the NBA Finals. Will the Pacers making it fearsome foursome?
The Lakers got past the Boston Celtics in 2010. Miami thwarted the San Antonio Spurs in 2013. With the Cavaliers being the most recent team to pull it off nearly a decade ago, their first NBA Championship in franchise history came against the Golden State Warriors. If the Pacers were to beat the Thunder in back-to-back games, this would be their first NBA Championship in franchise history.
Of course, a home victory for OKC would be the first since the team relocated from Seattle in 2008.
Teams down 3-2 that won Game 6 of NBA Finals (last 20 years):
— Nate Duncan (@NateDuncanNBA) June 20, 2025
2025 Pacers
2016 Cavaliers*
2013 Heat*
2010 Lakers*
*Won Game 7
Do the plucky Pacers have it in them to keep a growing trend alive when it comes to the NBA Finals?
Why the Indiana Pacers have an excellent shot to win the NBA Finals
The biggest thing for me is this is untrodden territory for both franchises. They have been to one NBA Finals before in their histories. Indiana fell to the Lakers way back in 2000, while the Thunder were no match for the Heat in 2012. If I am trying to look for cross-sections between the three other champions that won Game 7 after winning Game 6, it starts with having a hall-of-fame superstar.
The Lakers had Kobe Bryant, and the Heat and Cavaliers had LeBron James at the peak of his powers. Is Tyrese Haliburton on that level yet? To be quite frank, is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on that level yet, too? I would argue that whoever ends up winning the NBA Finals will put their star player onto that undeniable pedestal. Frankly, both are on their way to eventually making it to Springfield.
What I am getting at is you need a player of that caliber, as well as a strong supporting cast around him to overcome a 3-2 deficit to win an NBA Finals. The one thing that I keep going back to is I do not think the Pacers or the Thunder have the adversary these other NBA champions did. Boston had Kevin Garnett, the Spurs had Tim Duncan and the Warriors had Steph Curry. All were NBA champions.
This NBA Finals has been unlike anything we have ever seen, so expect the unexpected on Sunday.