The finals duel was one year late, Pacers vs. Thunder, 2 runner-up dragons met in the finals

The NBA playoffs are only the finals left.

West: The Thunder passed the hurdles and won the championship, and Alexander was elected the MVP of the Western Conference Finals.

East: Pacers counterattacked all the way and won the championship, Siakam was elected the MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals.

And the Pacers and the Thunder will meet in the finals to decide the final NBA championship. The runner-up of the Year of the Dragon

The last time the Thunder reached the finals was 13 years ago. In the 2011-2012 season, the Thunder reached the finals under the leadership of Durant, Westbrook and Harden.

It's a pity that the Thunder met the Heat, the Big Three Heat in the finals, and the draft training was not as fast as the team-building team. The Thunder lost 1-4 and missed the championship. The last time the Pacers reached the finals was 25 years ago, in the 1999-2000 season, the Pacers reached the finals all the way under the leadership of Reggie Miller.

It's a pity that the Pacers met the growing Lakers in the finals, and finally lost 2-4 and missed the championship.

Coincidentally, the last time these two teams reached the finals was in the Year of the Dragon. Now the runner-up of the Year of the Dragon met in the Year of the Snake. It can be said that this is a final showdown that is one year late. If their encounter occurs in the Year of the Dragon in 2024, it would be even more interesting. The two teams that failed in the Year of the Dragon compete for the championship in the third Year of the Dragon.

There must be one victory and one loss

Reality is cruel, competition is ruthless, and there is only one final champion.

Now, everyone is praising the Pacers and the Thunder. This situation is not contradictory, but when the finals are over, only one team is destined to be able to top and win the championship, while the other team can only accept the fact of failure and start over.

Just like before the East-West Strike began, everyone was appreciating the Pacers, the Knicks, the Timberwolves, and the Thunder. After the East-West Final was over, the appreciation was only left to the Pacers and Thunder, and there was only regret for the Timberwolves and the Knicks.

If the Pacers win the championship, it will be the first championship in the team history.

If the Thunder wins the championship, it will be the first championship after the name change and the second championship in team history. In 1979, the Thunder, who was also called Supersonics, won the first championship in team history.

Young players

The core of the Thunder Alexander, Jaylen Williams, and Homgren are all young teams and have no championships. This is their first time playing in the finals.

And in the Thunder, there is a veteran Caruso. In the 2019-2020 season, Caruso won the championship with the Lakers. He has experience in the finals and championships. Halliburton, the core of the Pacers, also played in the finals for the first time, but his teammate Siakam has experience in championships. In the 2018-2019 season, Siakam won the championship with the Raptors.

In addition, in the Pacers lineup, Thomas Bryant won the championship with the Nuggets in the 2022-2023 season.

These veterans may play an unexpected role in the finals, especially Siakam. When the Raptors won the championship, he was the second in command of the team. Now he is still the second in command of the team and has also won the MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Finals schedule

June 6, the first game of the finals, followed by June 9, June 12, and June 14.