Baker Mayfield laughs beside ESPN's Lee Corso during the College GameDay broadcast the Red River Rivalry college football game. BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

Buccaneers players make their picks for Pacers-Thunder NBA Finals

Originally posted on Tampa Bay Buccaneers on SI
By River Wells | Last updated Jun 5, 2025 4:30 PM ET

The time has finally arrived for the NBA Finals, as Game 1 between the favorite Oklahoma City Thunder and the red-hot Indiana Pacers is set to begin tonight — and Tampa Bay Buccaneers players all got in on the action by making their picks.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers social media team went around the locker room after one of Tampa Bay's OTA practices to poll 15 players on who they were taking to win the series between the Thunder and the Pacers. It should be no surprise that Oklahoma City took a big share of the picks, especially given that quarterback Baker Mayfield and wideout Sterling Shepard played for the Oklahoma Sooners in college.

In the end, the Sooners took the victory in the team's poll 11-4. Only four players — rookie wideout Tez Johnson, defensive tackle Calijah Kancey, center Graham Barton and tight end Ko Kieft — went with the Pacers. Outside linebacker Yaya Diaby initially went with the Pacers, but switched over to OKC at the very end.

Let's see how well the Bucs know pic.twitter.com/NLM05XlwCQ
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) June 5, 2025

The Bucs' most notable basketball tie likely comes from wide receiver Mike Evans, who played high school basketball for three years in Galveston, Texas. He reportedly had interest from D1 schools to play basketball, but chose football instead — Bucs fans are probably pretty happy about his decision, but it would have been interesting to see who his finals pick was.