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Indiana Pacers Forced To Make Emergency Landing Due To Severe Weather

Originally posted on The Spun | By Chris Rosvoglou | Last updated Jun 3, 2025 9:51 PM ET

The Indiana Pacers are still two days away from Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, and yet, they've already been dealt a difficult hand.

Earlier this Tuesday, the Pacers departed Indiana with the hopes of having a clean flight to Oklahoma City. It quickly became apparent that Mother Nature had other plans.

According to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated, the team plane for the Pacers was diverted from Oklahoma City to Tulsa due to a tornado warning.

"The Indiana Pacers team plane has landed in Tulsa, a team official told SI," Mannix wrote on X. "The Pacers plane circled the OKC area before landing in Tulsa to refuel. A tornado warning is in effect in Oklahoma City."

Thankfully, the Pacers safely landed in Oklahoma City later this Tuesday.

The Pacers head into the NBA Finals as massive underdogs. As of now, they have +500 odds to defeat the Thunder.

Despite what the experts are saying, Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers are excited to face the Thunder.

"As long as the guys in our locker room and people in this building believe, anything is possible," Haliburton said. "We're really excited about the challenge. It's a really good team in front of us. No quote-unquote expert or analyst is gonna pick us. That's OK. We like it better that way. It's going to be a lot of fun."

Game 1 of the NBA Finals will tip off at 8:30 p.m. ET on Thursday. It'll be televised on ABC.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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