WHY THE 2025 NBA FINALS IS A WIN FOR SMALL-MARKET NBA TEAMS

All throughout the playoffs, we’ve had storylines building up to this moment. One of the most talked about was the debate over who won the trade between Julius Randle and Karl-Anthony Towns. But that quickly took a backseat once Tyrese Haliburton turned his "wrestling match" with Jalen Brunson into a breakout narrative of his own.

Now, Haliburton has done the unthinkable—bringing the Indiana Pacers back to the NBA Finals for the first time in over 25 years.

On the other side, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Sam Presti’s slow and steady rebuild has led the Oklahoma City Thunder back to the big stage. It’s their first Finals appearance since the era of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden.

This is where we are now—and it’s awesome. No more superteams. Just two small-market franchises, built on smart drafting, balanced trades, and player development. Sure, Indiana went big to get Pascal Siakam, but let’s not forget—he came from another small-market team that he helped win a title. Meanwhile, OKC pulled off a reverse version of that when they traded away Paul George.

The world hasn’t forgotten how PG fizzled out on every contender since, but funnily enough, he’s the catalyst that indirectly powered both teams to the Finals.

Remember: the Clippers gave OKC a king’s ransom that included SGA and the pick that became Jalen Williams. Indiana, on the other hand, used Domantas Sabonis—who came from that same Paul George trade—to get Haliburton from the Sacramento Kings. So yeah, Paul George might be sitting this one out, but both the Pacers and Thunder owe him a sarcastic "thank you."

If you're still looking for a wrestling-type story to frame this Finals, look no further than the criticism these two stars faced going into the 2025 Playoffs. Haliburton was being labeled "overrated," despite being a stat machine with high assists, low turnovers, and excellent decision-making. SGA, meanwhile, had to deal with MVP debates because, well, Nikola Jokic is a walking triple-double. Yes, Shai’s numbers are great—but against Jokic’s all-around dominance, they were being overlooked.

But not anymore.

OKC booted the former champs out of the playoffs largely because of what SGA did on both ends. He had the better supporting cast, sure—but make no mistake, he's the face of this team and its driving force.

Some say this series might suffer in TV ratings. Maybe. But the NBA seems to have countered that with a more physical brand of playoff basketball. The teams that prioritized inside play over chucking threes have found success—and that’s part of what made this postseason so compelling. (Yes, I still hate that my Celtics lost to the Knicks. But when you rely too much on volume threes, you live and die by the streak.)

My only weird gripe? The fan colors. No offense to Indiana yellow or whatever shade of blue/teal/orange OKC is rocking—it's just that it might end up looking like the Sugar Rush race track from Wreck-It Ralph.

That aside, this is shaping up to be a fantastic Finals. Two underdog teams, built from the ground up, both disrespected at various points, now standing on the NBA’s biggest stage, fighting not just for a trophy—but for respect.