Mar 12, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) drives to the basket beside Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) during the first quarter at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton Can Silence Doubters in NBA Finals Against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Originally posted on Indianapolis Pacers on SI
By Nelson Espinal | Last updated Jun 2, 2025 12:49 PM ET

The Indiana Pacers are set to face the Oklahoma City Thunder for the NBA Championship, pitting two small markets against each other.

The NBA Finals will feature a battle between two of the brightest stars in the league, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton.

Both players have completely different play-style, with Gilgeous-Alexander attacking the basket and being more of a scorer, while Haliburton does more play-making through ball movement and reading the defense.

July 6, 2017: The trade that set up the 2025 NBA Finals.

Thunder get: Paul George

Pacers get: Domantas Sabonis and Victor Oladipo

- In 2019, the Thunder trade George to Clippers for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

- In 2022, the Pacers trade Sabonis to Kings for Tyrese Haliburton pic.twitter.com/oAvhpqI22i
— Jeff Eisenband (@JeffEisenband) June 1, 2025

They fulfill the role that their teams need: Gilgeous-Alexander provides offense for an amazing defensive team, while Haliburton leads a potent offense that can score in various different ways.

This clash is easily the most exciting single match-up in the series.

In a story previewing the NBA finals, ESPN's Kevin Pelton highlighted the fascinating matchup.

"Gilgeous-Alexander and Haliburton succeed offensively in wildly different fashions. The MVP has never averaged more than this season's 6.4 assists per game; but he led the NBA by scoring 32.7 points per game, the sixth-highest average all time for a full-time point guard," Pelton wrote in his article.

"Meanwhile, Haliburton is the ultimate table setter, having led the league in assists per game in 2023-24 at 10.9 and finishing third this season at 9.2. Haliburton is a dangerous scorer too, having topped 30 points twice in the conference finals, but he is capable of dominating a game without scoring 20.

As the MVP, Gilgeous-Alexander represents a true superstar who has now garnered heaps of national attention. Haliburton, for as well as he has played, is not the same caliber of star, often being regarded as overrated.

Haliburton was a member of the gold medal-winning Olympic team that played in Paris, though he got headlines for all the wrong reasons since the national media spoke about how little playing time the Pacers star got.

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