OKC Thunder Star Reveals 'Annoying' Matchup From NBA Finals

Oklahoma City’s championship journey featured plenty of challenges, but the NBA Finals offered one of the most difficult matchups.

The Thunder spent the final days of June celebrating their first NBA title, but that celebration didn’t come easy. After a grueling playoff run, the Thunder capped their dream season with a Game 7 win over the Indiana Pacers.

Throughout the seven-game battle, the Pacers presented many different issues for the Thunder. While Tyrese Haliburton’s clutch shot-making and Aaron Nesmith’s ability to catch fire from deep were on the Thunder’s radar heading into the Finals, another key Pacer might have given Oklahoma City the most trouble.

T.J. McConnell averaged 12 points, 4.3 assists and 2.1 steals throughout the Finals off the bench for Indiana. While those numbers aren’t the most eye-opening, his impact went far beyond his counting stats.

McConnell turned around Game 3 with his inbounds steals and was a pesky defender throughout the series. However, his offense was one of the most interesting parts of the Finals.

McConnell’s ability to get downhill and score off short jumpers was a key piece of Indiana’s offense, especially with Haliburton off the floor. Considering all of the trouble McConnell gave the Thunder in the Finals, Jalen Williams’ assessment of his play was unsurprising.

“Dude’s so annoying,” Williams said on The Young Man and the Three podcast. “Special player, though. What’s cool is, looking back at it, and I was even able to share a couple of moments with him during the game, is he was really cool to me when I got drafted.”

Williams said the two have kept in touch over the past few years and talked about how McConnell is cool off the floor as well. However, none of that mattered much as the two were battling on the court and looking to secure an NBA championship.

After Haliburton’s crushing Achilles tear in Game 7, McConnell became the Pacers’ main option at point guard. In the third quarter, McConnell kept Indiana in the game by scoring 12 of the Pacers’ 20 points, shooting 6-of-7 from the floor.

McConnell’s impressive play in that quarter certainly sent some fears into Thunder fans. However, Williams revealed it wasn’t only Thunder fans who felt like McConnell might be carrying his team to a title in that moment.

“We were thinking the same thing,” Williams said. “He ran off a run, and we were going into the huddle like, ‘Bro,’ but yeah, he was annoying during that series, and annoying is obviously a good thing, just on the other end of that.”