It’s always odd to hear chatter that nobody will watch the NBA Finals because of the market size of the teams involved.
Not that one turns on the television and goes, “Oh, those are the Oklahoma City Thunder. Fewer people live in Oklahoma than New York. I don’t think I can watch this.”
Nobody says that. And if you hear anyone say something like that, escort them out of your house or sports bar immediately.
The Milwaukee Bucks played in the NBA Finals in 2021 — and won the crown — and the league didn’t collapse due to the city’s small-market size.
Gosh, imagine all the complaints when the Rochester Royals won it all in 1951.
People who turn on the TV to watch basketball are going to stay tuned in. Period.
Looking at this season’s pairing, the Thunder and Indiana Pacers have proven to be the best two teams in the league — Oklahoma City by far in the West, while Indiana’s recent finishing kick elevated it to the best in the East.
People will be excited to see more fresh blood in the NBA Finals. Whichever team wins will make it seven different champions over seven seasons. Now that’s good stuff.
Sorry, Bill Russell — nobody wants to see a team win 11 NBA titles in 13 seasons in this era.
The Pacers were last in the NBA Finals in 2000, with Reggie Miller as a player, Larry Bird as head coach and current head coach Rick Carlisle as an assistant. They lost to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Oklahoma City is in the Finals for the first time since 2012, when it lost to the Miami Heat. That was a squad with Kevin Durant and the superstar version of Russell Westbrook.
The Thunder arrived in Oklahoma City before the start of the 2008–09 season. Before that, the franchise went by Seattle SuperSonics. And the Sonics won the 1979 NBA title.
But that doesn’t go with the Thunder. During the move, ownership did all it could to banish the SuperSonics’ history. Soooo, no way — only Seattle gets to brag about that crown.
Oklahoma City, of course, is capable of winning its own title. The Thunder also are a highly fun team to watch on TV.
League MVP and scoring champ Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Thunder may not have played on Christmas Day, but playing in June is a bigger deal. Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren and defensive force Luguentz Dort are great complements to Gilgeous-Alexander.
The Pacers are an entertaining bunch, and their style of play makes for stellar TV viewing.
Indiana has its own star in Tyrese Haliburton, who scores, passes, steals the ball and leads by example. Pascal Siakam had three 30-point outings in the six-game takedown of the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals.
Indiana is elite in transition. Heck, the Pacers ran Tom Thibodeau out of a job (unfairly at that) with a dominating 106–48 advantage in fast-break points.
The Knicks never figured out how to slow the Pacers. Oklahoma City, though, will be pushing the pace just as fast. That’s part of why this matchup will be fun to watch.
If you like basketball, this series is for you. If all you care about is that there is no Los Angeles team involved, well, direct your complaints to the owners of the Lakers and Clippers. Neither team won a first-round series with guys like LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Kawhi Leonard and James Harden on their respective rosters.
Put it this way — no pretenders get to play in June.
The Pacers and Thunder don’t care about television ratings, and neither should you. Now is the time for big basketball performances, not big markets.
