NBA Finals 2025: OKC Thunder vs. Indiana Pacers: Predictions, picks, odds.
A new NBA champion will be crowned in 2025. The Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers are set to meet in the NBA Finals beginning Thursday, June 5 and both teams are officially seeking their first title.
The Thunder were the best team in the NBA throughout the 2024-25 season led by MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and enter this championship series as a heavy favorite to win. They reached the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012 by trouncing the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games during the Western Conference finals.
The Indiana Pacers are more of a surprise despite making a lengthy playoff run a year ago. The Pacers ranked outside the top 10 in NBA title odds entering the postseason only to upset the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference semifinals before disposing of the New York Knicks in the conference finals to reach the NBA Finals for the first time in 25 years.
Here's a look at Sportshistori.com the latest picks, predictions and odds entering Thursday's Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers:
NBA Finals picks: Thunder vs. Pacers predictions
USA TODAY: Every expert picks the Thunder
All of the NBA experts at USA Today Sports picked the Oklahoma City Thunder to beat the Indiana Pacers in the 2025 NBA Finals
Scooby Axson: Thunder in five
Jordan Mendoza: Thunder in six
Lorenzo Reyes: Thunder in six
James Williams: Thunder in six
Jeff Zillgitt: Thunder in five
Sports Illustrated: Thunder win NBA Finals
"The Thunder have a net rating of +11.2 in the playoffs (Indiana is sitting at +4.1), and they’ve been dominant against non-Jokic opponents. Plus, the Pacers fall outside of a key trend ... Since the 1996-97 season, every team that won the title finished the regular season in the top eight in the league in net rating. This season, OKC was No. 1 while the Pacers finished 13th."
NBA.com: Every expert picks the Thunder
John Schuhman writes, "The Thunder are, simply, the best team in basketball. Their No. 1 defense has been ridiculously good in the playoffs, holding the Grizzlies, Nuggets and Wolves to 19.6, 15.0 and 4.2 fewer points per 100 possessions, respectively, than they scored in the regular season. (Take away the Game 3 blowout and the Wolves’ discrepancy would also be in the double-digits.) The Indiana offense vs. Oklahoma City defense could be the best one-end-of-the-floor matchup that we’ve seen in the Finals in a long time, but the Thunder should have the edge on that end of the floor and the other."
Thunder vs. Pacers NBA Finals Game 1 odds
The Oklahoma City Thunder are favorites to take a 1-0 lead over the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals, according to BetMGM (odds as of 4 p.m. ET on Monday, June 2):
Spread: Thunder (-9.5)
Moneyline: Thunder (-400); Pacers (+310)
Over/under: 230.5
Thunder vs. Pacers NBA Finals series odds 2025
The Oklahoma City Thunder enter Game 1 as the favorite to win the 2025 NBA Finals over the Indiana
Pacers, according to BetMGM (odds as of 4 p.m. ET on Monday, June 2)
Series winner: Thunder (-700); Pacers (+500)
NBA Finals 2025: Schedule, today game time, TV channel, live streaming
All times Eastern. *-if necessary
Game 1, June 5: Pacers at Thunder | ABC, Fubo | 8:30 p.m.
Game 2, June 8: Pacers at Thunder | ABC, Fubo | 8 p.m.
Game 3, June 11: Thunder at Pacers | ABC, Fubo | 8:30 p.m.
Game 4, June 13: Thunder at Pacers | ABC, Fubo | 8:30 p.m.
Game 5, June 16: Pacers at Thunder | ABC, Fubo | 8:30 p.m.*
Game 6, June 19: Thunder at Pacers | ABC, Fubo | 8:30 p.m.*
Game 7, June 22: Pacers at Thunder | ABC, Fubo | 8 p.m.*
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