2025 NBA Finals Features Two Teams who Completed Historic Turnarounds

The NBA Finals tips off on Thursday between two teams that most anlysts and observers likely would have never projected to reach the title this time three years ago.

At the end of the 2021-22 season, the Oklahoma City Thunder held a 24-58 record while the Indiana Pacers finished the year at 25-57. Now, OKC heads into the championship series after going 68-14 in the regular season while Indiana boasted a 50-32 record this year.

To reach this point, both front offices made a number of solid moves in free agency, the trade market and the NBA Draft. Both teams built their NBA Finals' roster in different ways, but each has managed to add valuable pieces through the draft to help get their team get over the hump.

Both Indiana and Oklahoma City traded for their main star, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Tyrese Haliburton each started their careers elsewhere. The Thunder added Gligeous-Alexander's co-stars in the first round, picking Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams in the 2022 class.

Holmgren was selected No. 2 overall and averaged 15 points, eight rebounds, two assists and 2.2 blocks per game in 2024-25. The versatile center played just 32 regular season games after suffering a hip injury, but has been instrumental for OKC in the postseason.

Williams tallied 21.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game in his third year, earned All-Star, All-NBA and All-Defense honors.

The Pacers added their second option, Pascal Siakam, in a trade, but drafted key pieces of the team's postsesaon run like Bennedict Mathurin, Andrew Nembhard and even Myles Turner through the draft.

Like Holmgren and Williams, Mathurin and Nembhard were also members of the 2022 NBA Draft class. Mathurin averaged 16.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game this season while Nembhard put up 10 points, five assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.2 steals per contest.

Turner was selected a decade ago, in the 2015 NBA Draft, and has spent his entire professional career with the Pacers.

Both teams are solid indications that successful teams are built through a combination of free agency, trades and the draft.

While Haliburton, Siakam and Gilgeous-Alexander are the main catalysts that helped their teams reach the NBA Finals, niether team would have made it this far without the aforementioned players.