OKC vs Indiana Pacers for the Larry O’Brien Trophy 

By Romuel Alarcon

From the onset of the 2024-2025 National Basketball Association season, no one among the so-called NBA pundits ever proximate that Oklahoma City Thunder nor the Indiana Pacers will fight it out for the NBA Championship.  Not even those NBA Legends anchoring tv networks ever foreseen such championship showdown.  The vast experience of the said NBA Legends holding the microphone was not enough to foresaw it coming. 

From the start of the season, slowly but surely, the Oklahoma City Thunder is flexing their muscles, with their meteoric superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who just won the Michael Jordan Trophy.  SGA averaging a little over 30 points a game, and a great support is coming from his back point producer Jalen Williams with 21 points output, with Luguentz Dort, Isaiah Hartstein, Aaron Wiggins, and Isia Joe averaging a little over 10 points. One of the pillars of OKC is Chet Holmgren who at 7’1” is averaging 15 points is a very reliable center. Barring any injuries at the center, Chet can carry the OKC into the Championship. Chet can be viewed as the new Bill Walton in the making. The rest of the team are just so-so players.  Their Western Conference opponent is the Minnesota Timberwolves headed by Anthony Edwards with 25 points, Julius Randle with 21 points, Jaden McDaniel’s with 15, and Naz Reid with 10. Not a strong output of a champion team, although they have shown their wares by downing Los Angeles Lakers. But they have Rudy Gobert with 9 rebounds per game but with only 8 points output.    

The Western Conference is full of strong teams like the Los Angeles Lakers with Lebron James and the Luka Doncic.  The Los Angeles Clippers with former MVP James Harden, and the strong and

reliable Kawhi Leonard. The San Francisco Warriors headed by 4-time NBA Champion Steph Curry and the bull strong aging defender Draymond Green. This 3 Californian Team was waylaid. Although the Minnesota Timberwolves are still fighting it out against OKC, but with 3-1 deficit, their chances of going to the championship is getting slimmer.  

In the Eastern Conference, the Indiana Pacer which I consider a Darkhorse is a very strong contender for the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Heading the Indiana Pacers offensive trust is not an American but a Cameroonian named Pascal Siakam with 20 points output. Followed closely by Tyrese Haliburton with 18 points, then Bennedict Mathurin with 16 points, a very good share for the Pacers swingmen, Myles Turner their Center is averaging 15 points per game, Aaron Nesmith averaging 12 points and two more players averaging 10 points in Obi Toppin and Andrew Nembhard. A well-balanced output for a team to be in the championship circle. Their other center Isaiah Jackson who just played for 5 games averages 7 points a game. Can be relied on. The India Pacers rely on both individual defense as well as team defense.  But the premium on defense is the whole team defense. 

The New York Knicks down 3-1 is on the verge of going down to the Indiana Pacers in spite their great acquisition of Karl Anthony Towns, and their downing of the injury plaque Boston Celtics, they are still in a very precarious situation.  The Knicks is heade by Jalen Brunson with an average of 26 points, followed closely by Karl Anthony Towns with 24 points, the comes OG Anunoby with 18, and Mikal Bridges with 17 and Josh Hart with 13 points. It is quite good in the paper but on the basketball court things are different. KAT is not playing what is supposed to be his rule of manning the shaded lane, but instead he is firing from the outside, leaving a gaping hole in the middle. 

Looking in my crystal ball, I still see a first timer in the championship showdown with OKC Thunder battling out with the Indiana Pacers for the Larry O’Brien Trophy.  A first timer will hold high the Larry O’Brien Trophy no more no less. I will still go to Indiana Pacers for the National Basketball Association Crown.