After six weeks of riveting playoff action across both conferences, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers will begin the NBA Finals on Thursday (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC). It’ll be the start of a best-of-seven affair to determine which team will claim its first NBA championship. (Indiana won multiple ABA titles; Oklahoma City has one prior NBA crown from when it was the Seattle SuperSonics.) One of the teams also will become the league’s seventh consecutive new champion, establishing a record for parity in the NBA.

It’s a series that should deliver some exciting basketball. Oklahoma City, representing the Western Conference, was the league’s best defensive team this season, while the Eastern Conference’s Pacers possess one of the NBA’s elite offenses. Both play with a relentless, full-court style designed to wear on the opposition.

To get you prepared for all the action, we’ve broke down our top 20 players in the Finals, using a combination of how they’ve performed during the 2024-25 season and playoffs and their projections for this series.

It’s no surprise the NBA’s Most Valuable Player will sit atop the list. He led the 68-win Thunder on an impressive march through the West portion of the bracket to bring Oklahoma City back to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012. Like he has all season, Gilgeous-Alexander will spend much of this series both getting to the rim and operating in the midrange. And he easily could force Aaron Nesmith and Andrew Nembhard, Indiana’s two top wing defenders, into foul trouble. It’s hard to see a way for Indiana to slow down Gilgeous-Alexander, and the Pacers undoubtedly will be happy if they can keep him from breaking their defense by himself. — Tim Bontemps

After a slow start, perhaps influenced by lingering hamstring issues, Haliburton has played at an elite level since the calendar flipped to 2025. He averaged 19.5 points and 9.7 assists over the last 39 games of the regular season, shooting 51% overall and 43% on 3s. Haliburton has created a league-high 25.3 points on passes during the playoffs, per NBA Advanced Stats, and he made clutch shots in several of Indiana’s improbable postseason comebacks. The one question is how Haliburton will handle a Thunder defense loaded with elite point-of-attack defenders. As ESPN’s Zach Kram noted, Haliburton has averaged just 12 PPG against Oklahoma City across the past two seasons, his lowest mark against any opponent. — Kevin Pelton

Siakam, who won MVP honors in the East finals, is the only member of Indiana’s rotation with NBA Finals experience. He was a member of the 2019 Toronto Raptors championship team, going for 26 points and 10 rebounds to close out the series in Game 6 at the Golden State Warriors. Siakam has been a perfect fit with the Pacers and Haliburton since arriving less than 18 months ago. He’ll have to carry over his play from the conference finals if Indiana wants to have a chance to make this a long series. — Bontemps

The West finals represented a key step in Williams’ development as a championship-caliber sidekick. He struggled against the Denver Nuggets‘ zone in Round 2 — similar to last season’s series loss in the same round to the Dallas Mavericks — shooting a combined 10-of-43 (23%) over Games 3 through 5 before bursting out with 24 points in Game 7. Against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the conference finals, however, Williams averaged 22.2 PPG on 49% shooting, including 12-of-26 (46%) on 3s. If Williams repeats that in the Finals, the Thunder will almost certainly raise their first championship banner in Oklahoma City. — Pelton

Holmgren had his best series of the playoffs against the Timberwolves in the West finals, eclipsing 20 points in three of the five games and shooting 56.7% for the series. The versatile 7-foot-1 big man likely will spend time on both Siakam and Myles Turner in this series and, as always, will play a key part in the swarming Thunder defense’s game plan to slow down the high-powered Pacers offense. As with Williams, if Holmgren can keep up his offensive production against Indiana, the Thunder will be tough to beat. — Bontemps

Caruso has yet to start in the playoffs, but when the chips are down, he’s clearly one of Mark Daigneault’s most trusted options because of his defensive impact and capable 3-point shooting. Caruso opened the second half of the Thunder’s two most important wins thus far, capably matching up with Nikola Jokic in Game 7 of the Denver series and helping Oklahoma City win Game 4 in Minneapolis to take command of the West finals. OKC’s defense is always good, and adding Caruso’s disruption makes it historically elite. — Pelton

Nesmith has been one of the breakout stars of these playoffs. His spectacular performance in Game 1 of Indiana’s East finals victory over the New York Knicks almost single-handedly powered the Pacers’ 17-point comeback in the fourth quarter. He also did a great job in guarding Jalen Brunson, before a right ankle sprain derailed Nesmith’s series. Nesmith, who has shot 50% from 3-point range during the postseason, will play a critical role in the Finals as he guards either Gilgeous-Alexander or Williams. And both Nesmith’s health and his jumper will need to be in a good place for the Pacers to have a chance to win this series. — Bontemps

Turner brings a stretch element to Indiana’s offense that helps make everything fit together. Long before the likes of Holmgren and Victor Wembanyama redefined what centers are capable of offensively, Turner was averaging more than one made 3-pointer per game, and this season’s 2.2 made 3s (on 40% accuracy) were a career high. Turner also has stepped up his rim protection during the playoffs, blocking a league-high 7% of opponent 2-point attempts, a feat he hasn’t accomplished in the regular season since 2021-22. — Pelton

Hartenstein has the potential to dominate the glass in the Finals just as Mitchell Robinson did in the East finals for the Knicks. An excellent rebounder, Hartenstein’s minutes have waxed and waned as the playoffs have progressed, but it seems likely he will be able to have a significant impact when Turner takes breaks and Indiana’s small bench unit takes the court in his place. — Bontemps

A first-time pick to the NBA All-Defensive first team who finished fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting, Dort likely will get the assignment of defending Haliburton when both teams have their starters on the court. Per GeniusIQ tracking, Haliburton has scored just eight points in 122 matchups against Dort over the past two seasons, easily his lowest per-matchup mark against any defender he has faced at least 100 times during that span. To stay on the court to defend Haliburton, Dort also will need to be an offensive threat. Dort is shooting just 30% on 3s in the playoffs after hitting a career-high 41% in the regular season. — Pelton

Nembhard is a solid defender and an excellent backcourt partner for Haliburton, with their varying skill sets. Nembhard has gone from being a 29% 3-point shooter in the regular season to a 48% shooter in these playoffs. That has played a huge part in Indiana’s run to the Finals — and it is something he needs to continue against OKC, as the Thunder likely will play with the same frenetic energy they always do defensively, a scheme that leads to open looks. Nembhard also is going to spend a lot of time on fellow Canadian Gilgeous-Alexander and needs to avoid foul trouble. — Bontemps

Pacers ball handlers would be wise to keep in mind one of the most poignant quotes from “The Wire” when Oklahoma City’s backup guard is on the court: Where’s Wallace? On a team filled with elite defenders, Wallace might be the best on-ball option, having ranked third in steals per game (1.8) while averaging 27.6 minutes of playing time during the regular season. Here’s an amazing stat, per GeniusIQ tracking: When Wallace defends the player bringing the ball upcourt in the playoffs, Thunder opponents have averaged a 92.6 offensive rating as compared to 108.3 with any other Oklahoma City defender. — Pelton

Playing against his former team in the postseason for a second straight year, Toppin had arguably his best game in Indiana’s series-clinching Game 6 victory over the Knicks. He put up 18 points — and blocked three shots, after recording just two of them total through Indiana’s first 15 playoff games. Toppin’s shooting will be needed against the Thunder. But he’ll also have to be careful with the ball; he tends to be a bit reckless with it at times, and no team takes better advantage of that than Oklahoma City. — Bontemps

Having averaged a career-high 12.0 PPG this season, the No. 55 draft pick in 2021 provided key contributions as the Thunder eliminated Denver. Wiggins scored all 11 of his points in the second half of a crucial Game 4 road victory and ranked second, behind Caruso, among Oklahoma City reserves in scoring during that series. Wiggins then faded to the fringes of Daigneault’s rotation against Minnesota, seeing his first DNP-CD of the season in Game 4, illustrating the Thunder’s options on their bench. — Pelton

Remarkably, Mathurin — the sixth selection in 2022 — is the highest draft pick on Indiana’s roster. He is a talented but streaky scorer, putting up 20 points in Game 4 and 23 in Game 5 versus the Knicks but registering 15 points across the other four contests in the series. Like Toppin, Mathurin can get passive with the ball, and in the minutes he plays in the Finals, Mathurin has to avoid that from happening and allowing OKC’s turnover machine to create some easy offense. His size and athleticism on the wing also could be a factor defensively. — Bontemps

The best shooter on a team that sometimes runs light in that regard, Joe got up 10.5 3-point attempts per 36 minutes during the regular season and hit them at a 41% clip. Sixth Man of the Year Award runner-up Malik Beasley was the only other player to shoot better than 40% on at least 10 attempts per 36 minutes. Joe’s slight frame can make him a defensive target in playoff settings, but he’ll be ready to shoot when needed. — Pelton

McConnell, the defining product of “The Process” in Philadelphia, has established himself as a permanent part of Indiana’s rotation as Haliburton’s backup, changing the game with his tempo and ability to attack the lane whenever he is on the court. But as the Knicks changed their rotation as the conference finals progressed to playing Delon Wright more, McConnell’s production diminished, as he went from double-digit scoring in the first three games to tallying just 15 points over the final three. Given how talented Oklahoma City’s perimeter defenders are, it remains to be seen if that trend will reverse in the Finals. — Bontemps

Sheppard’s role has become increasingly important throughout the playoffs, to the point where he played more minutes than Mathurin in the conference finals. Pacers coach Rick Carlisle has been able to depend on Sheppard to knock down 3s (42% in the playoffs, up from 34% in the regular season) and play capable defense, though the defensive assignment on Brunson might have been too much to ask. Sheppard will surely be needed in a similar role in this series. — Pelton

In his fifth campaign with the Thunder, Williams went from barely playing in the first couple of rounds to appearing in all five games of the West finals. His ability to play as either a very small-ball center at 6-foot-6 or as a power forward with 3-point shooting (21.4% this postseason) and defensive ability could make him an option for OKC in a couple of different roles this series. — Bontemps

It’s a testament to Oklahoma City’s enviable depth that Williams, the team’s 11th man, was so productive as a starter this season. He posted three triple-doubles in nine starts, averaging 10 points, 8 rebounds and 4.9 assists despite leaving one of those games after two minutes due to an ankle injury. Williams’ main role has been guarding burly centers such as Jokic, so this series doesn’t fit his very particular set of skills. — Pelton