Magic Johnson Sends Clear Message on NBA Finals

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Paolo Songco | Last updated Jun 1, 2025 9:30 PM ET

The NBA Finals is set.

The Indiana Pacers took out the New York Knicks on Saturday night in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals. This allowed the Pacers to book their spot in the Finals, where they will face newly crowned NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are coming off a 4-1 series win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in the West finals.

There's already a lot of anticipation ahead of Game 1 on Thursday in OKC, and Los Angeles Lakers icon Magic Johnson has decided to jump in on the hype train.

The Hall of Famer shared his opinion, writing on Sunday, "This NBA Championship Series is going to be exciting to watch, especially with Tyrese Haliburton and NBA league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander."

He gushed about both teams being excellent on the defensive front while also mentioning that they are "well-coached."

This NBA Championship Series is going to be exciting to watch, especially with Tyrese Haliburton and NBA league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Both teams love to run and fast break, are excellent defensive teams and are well coached!
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) June 1, 2025

Johnson stopped short of predicting a winner between the Thunder and the Pacers, but he's made it abundantly clear that he, too, is very much looking forward to what should be an epic series between two teams that match up well on paper.

Oklahoma City finished the regular season with the best record in the entire NBA (68-14). This means that they get home-court advantage in the Finals, which puts them in a great position to get a head start in this series by winning at home.

The Pacers, however, have arguably been the best road team in the NBA playoffs this year. They enter the Finals with a 6-2 record in postseason road games, and they will be looking to make it seven wins come Thursday in Game 1.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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