Finals Rematch Puts OKC Thunder's Success After Title in Perspective

Oklahoma City has been the league’s best team again after winning a title, but its next matchup shows just how impressive that feat is.

On Friday night, the Thunder will host the Indiana Pacers in the teams’ second matchup this season after a double-overtime thriller in the first week of the year. With that matchup being in Indiana, this upcoming contest will mark the first time the Pacers have visited Oklahoma City since Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

After trailing at halftime, the Thunder used a dominant third quarter to push their way to an NBA championship. On the other hand, the Pacers were unable to overcome the loss of Tyrese Haliburton, who left in the first quarter after tearing his Achilles.

Entering this season, there was no expectation for Indiana to be a contender without Haliburton on the floor, but the Pacers’ drop from being a half away from a title to one of the worst teams in the league is still shocking. While there wasn’t much question that the Thunder should enter this matchup with the better record going into the season, no one anticipated that Oklahoma City would have 27 more wins in mid-January.

Sure, if the Thunder were without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, they wouldn’t be a contender, but considering the depth of both teams, there was a general belief that either would still be a solid team competing for a playoff spot without their star. On paper, Indiana still looks like it should be a competitive team in the East, but its struggles also show how stressful a Finals run can be.

After enduring multiple Game 7s and finally pushing through in late June, the Thunder had about as grueling a postseason as any team can imagine. It would’ve been more than understandable for Oklahoma City to have taken a step back this season, especially with all of its injury troubles, which have some similarities to those of Indiana.

Instead, Oklahoma City tied the best 25-game start in league history and is still on pace to have another 68-win season. Coming into the season, this was one of the league’s rivalry week matchups with a spotlight on national TV. Now, the game has been flexed out of that slot after the staggeringly different directions last year’s Finalists have taken.

The Thunder’s success this season is incredibly impressive on its own, and they are well on their way to competing for another title. But seeing where the Indiana team that gave Oklahoma City all it could handle last June has ended up this season makes the reigning champion’s success even more remarkable.