Typically teams are all business ahead of a winner-take-all Game 7, especially when the championship is on the line.
The Oklahoma City Thunder may have gotten ahead of themselves and provided their opponent, the Indiana Pacers, the ultimate bulletin material just hours before Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals tips off on Sunday.
A video published to X (formerly Twitter) appears to show multiple double-decker buses wrapped in Thunder championship decoration, presumably in preparation for the parade that would happen just a few days after an Oklahoma City victory.
Pacers Coach Rick Carlisle opens his pregame presser: “I just saw a video that’s probably going to go viral, with open-top buses presumably for the parade, already painted with them as champions. So that’s what I’m thinking about right now.” (Video from @JayHardy252) pic.twitter.com/oNM6NZXQo1
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) June 22, 2025
The buses feature the Thunder's logo and colors with the words "2025 Champions" written and the Larry O'Brien Trophy displayed.
The video quickly made the rounds online, ultimately grabbing the attention of someone within the Pacers locker room who showed it to head coach Rick Carlisle.
Whoa! Motivation alert!
— Ken Bud Sothman (@KenSothman) June 22, 2025
Pacers Head Coach Rick Carlisle has seen some video making the rounds of double-decker buses that are presumably for a Thunder parade if OKC wins.
He says that’s what is on his mind right now. pic.twitter.com/PLGZEserfE
"I just saw a video that's probably going to go viral of open top buses already painted with them as champions. That's all I'm thinking about," he told reporters at his pre-game press conference.
Teams naturally have to make advance preparations for highly complicated logistical events like a parade but they typically happen in behind the scenes.
The Kansas City Chiefs announced plans for a Super Bowl parade en lieu of a rally ahead of Super Bowl LIX, though it ultimately lost that contest, 40-22, to the Philadelphia Eagles.
This year's NBA Finals series has been highly competitive between the two squads with the Pacers thumping the Thunder, 108-91, to stave off elimination in Game 6 on Thursday.
Indiana will be looking to be the fifth team in NBA history to win a finals Game 7 on the road. The most recent of which was the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers.
If Oklahoma City can't follow through with a win on Sunday in Game 7, the images of those buses will go down infamously in NBA lore for all time.
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