Mar 29, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith (23) and Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8) fight for control of the ball during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Experts Overwhelmingly Agree on Outcome of Pacers-Thunder Series

Originally posted on Indianapolis Pacers on SI
By Nelson Espinal | Last updated Jun 2, 2025 4:29 PM ET

The Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder are set to face off in the NBA Finals, a series that poses several intriguing match-ups.

The Pacers are the heavy underdog according to the bookies due to the Thunder's regular-season success and historically good defense.

With the playoff series only a couple of days away, NBA experts have started to chime in with predictions about who will take home the Larry O'Brien trophy.

Zach Lowe, former ESPN NBA writer and now host of The Zach Lowe Show, gave his predictions on the NBA Finals series along with guest Kirk Goldsberry on Lowe's podcast.

Both NBA experts, with decades of experience covering the sport, picked the Thunder to win the series in five games, predicting the Pacers would only take one game at most.

Thunder-Pacers. Which team will raise the Larry O'Brien Trophy?@ZachLowe_NBA and @kirkgoldsberry make their picks for the 2025 NBA Finals. pic.twitter.com/JuVTakIzl2
— The Ringer (@ringer) June 2, 2025

Lowe and Goldsberry are following a similar trend among the NBA circles, with most analysts going with the Thunder to win the series and capture their first NBA title in franchise history.

"I'm going to pick the Oklahoma State Thunder in five games, which is a shorter number than I almost always predict," Kirk Goldsberry said on the podcast.

"This is one of the best teams we've seen play. The blowout statistics, the net rating statistics, all the defensive metrics they lead in.

"I just don't see a way for Indiana to overcome all of that as good as they've been in these playoffs."

The Thunder are a strong team everywhere, with no real weakness avalible.

They have a deeper roster than the Pacers, which is shocking since Indiana has one of the deepest rosters in the league.

Their defense is full of long limbs and switchable players that can give any significant offense, like the Pacers', a serious problem throughout a seven-game series.

While all signs point to the Thunder having the upper hand, the Pacers have shocked everyone this season and could yet pull another surprise.

"If Indiana can somehow steal one of these games and they have had a bank robbery in every single series they've had, if they steal one of these games, we will at least have this nice, delicious three-day period of like anything's possible," Lowe said.

"The neutral fan in me is rooting we come out of Oklahoma City somehow one way or another, one to one."