5 Crazy Facts About OKC Thunder-Pacers NBA Finals Matchup

The Oklahoma City Thunder are taking on the Indiana Pacers in the NBA Finals starting on Thursday, June 5. This is the Thunder's second-ever Finals trip, first since 2012. The Pacers last made it to this stage in 2000.

This flyover Finals has plenty of interesting storylines to follow along with on the court, but there are four eye-popping facts that stand out.

1) Representation With no Taxation

Since the NBA introduced the luxury tax, this is the first time that neither participant in the NBA Finals is a tax-paying team. 16 of the past 22 NBA Champions have been taxpayers, but this is the first matchup where at least one team wasn't in the luxury tax. 26 of the 44 teams in the NBA Finals since the luxury tax was introduced have been in the tax.

These are two teams built mainly on young talent, keeping the cost down for now, despite having some high-priced veterans on the squad.

One of these two teams will join a then six-team list of non-tax paying champions which includes the 2006 Miami Heat, 2014 San Antonio Spurs, 2015 Golden State Warriors, 2017 Golden State Warriors and 2020 Los Angeles Lakers.

2) Out of the Spotlight

The NBA has always prioritized Christmas Day as a marquee event to sell stars and get the attention back on the sport. Casual fans view the Holiday as the unofficial start to the NBA season. Working on Christmas Day is an honor in the league and something plenty of teams strive for.

This season's Christmas Day slate didn't feature the Oklahoma City Thunder or Indiana Pacers. This marks the first time since 2007 that the NBA Finals don't include at least one team that enjoyed a Christmas Day showcase game.

3) First Time Champions

Since the Oklahoma City Thunder do not claim any of the Seattle Supersonics' history, this is a battle of two teams seeking their first NBA Championship. This marks the first NBA Finals where the league is guaranteed a first-time winner since the 2006 NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks.

4) Not Too Far From Home

The Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder see their home arenas separated by just 688.4 miles. This is the shortest distance between two NBA clubs in the NBA Finals since 1971, when the Milwaukee Bucks battled the Baltimore Bullets, as those two foes were only 641.6 miles away.

5) Never Tell Me the Odds

If you judge this NBA Finals pairing by the preseason odds, it is by definition a long shot. The Oklahoma City Thunder meeting up with the Indiana Pacers had just a 1% chance of happening back in October, largely due to the way the market viewed the Pacers as the Thunder were heavy favorites all season long.

This is going to be an extremely fun –– and historic –– NBA Finals. Stay tuned to Thunder on SI for complete coverage of the NBA Finals.