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The Oklahoma City Thunder achieved 18 more victories than the Indiana Pacers during this season, reflecting the highest win disparity for any NBA Finals matchup in the last 44 years.
However, with the Finals set to begin tonight at 8:30 ET on ABC, both teams are on equal footing.
Here are key statistics to consider for each team as they vie for their first NBA championship in franchise history:
1. The Thunder have secured five playoff victories by margins of at least 25 points, tying them for the most in NBA history. They become the 12th team in the past 42 years since the playoffs were expanded to 16 teams to reach the Finals, having outscored their adversaries by an average of over 10 points per game in the initial three rounds. Of the other 11 teams with a similar record, nine went on to win the championship, with the 2016-17 Cavaliers (who averaged +13.6 points per game) being one of the exceptions—they lost to the Warriors, who had a superior point differential of +16.3 per game at the conference finals.
2. Both squads hold winning records in games where they were down by double digits; the Thunder at 3-2 and the Pacers at 4-3.
3. The Pacers boast a remarkable 7-1 record in games decided by five points or fewer in the final five minutes, which ranks as one of the best clutch playoff records (minimum five clutch games) over the last 29 years of play-by-play data.
4. Indiana has outpaced its opponents by an average of 8.5 transition points per game, leading this category in the playoffs as per Synergy tracking. The Thunder follow closely with the second-best mark at +8.1.
5. The Thunder have outscored their adversaries by an impressive 7.0 points per game in the restricted area, marking the best differential in the playoffs.
Thunder Efficiency Breakdown by Round
OffRtg = Points scored per 100 possessions
DefRtg = Points allowed per 100 possessions
AdjO = OffRtg – opponent’s regular-season DefRtg
AdjD = DefRtg – opponent’s regular-season OffRtg
Rank = Among all teams in each series (out of 28)
Rank in totals row = Among the 16 teams
(Note: The Thunder registered the best, second-best, and 13th-best defensive series in these playoffs, limiting the Grizzlies, Nuggets, and Timberwolves to 19.7, 15.0, and 4.1 fewer points per 100 possessions than their regular-season averages. Overall, Oklahoma City has scored 2.8 more and given up 12.8 fewer points per 100 possessions compared to their opponents’ regular-season statistics, adjusted for total possessions against each rival.)
Let’s explore the highlights of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s remarkable journey to the NBA Finals!
6. They have averaged only 13.9 seconds per possession, the shortest average of any team in the playoffs, according to Second Spectrum tracking. In terms of offensive flow, they rank sixth in ball movement with 309 passes per 24 minutes of possession and second in player movement, traveling an average of 11.5 miles per 24 minutes of possession.
7. The Thunder lead the playoffs in turnover rate, averaging just 11.8 turnovers per 100 possessions.
8. Despite their success, they have struggled with a 3-point shooting percentage of 33.6%, the lowest among the eight teams that progressed past the first round and the second-lowest mark for a Finals contender in 13 years.
9. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander holds an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.08, which ranks as the second-best playoff figure (behind Nikola Jokić’s 3.28 in 2019) among players averaging at least 25 points and six assists across ten or more playoff games in the last 34 years. His ratio from the previous year stands at 2.91, the third highest.
10. The Thunder have been proficient at forcing turnovers, averaging 17.7 per 100 possessions, the highest rate for any playoff team in a decade. Their 10.6 steals per 100 possessions set a record for any team that advanced past the first round in 26 years. Additionally, their 20.8 deflections per game lead all playoff teams in the past ten years, with Alex Caruso averaging 5.2 deflections per 36 minutes, the highest among 119 players who played over 100 playoff minutes this year.
11. OKC uniquely ranks in the top five in opponent field goal percentage in the restricted area (62.2%, third lowest) as well as in limiting the proportion of opponent shots taken in that area (24%, fifth lowest).
12. Only 13.6% of OKC’s opponents’ possessions, the lowest rate among playoff teams, have come in transition, according to Synergy tracking.
13. The Thunder’s opponents have launched 44.3% of their shots from beyond the arc, the third-highest rate in the playoffs, and 32% of those 3-point attempts have come from corner shots, the second-highest rate. The Thunder hold a 3-3 record when their opponents shoot better than 36% from three, but they excel with a 9-1 record (with the one defeat coming by just two points due to a last-minute Aaron Gordon 3-pointer) when opponents shoot below that threshold.
Pacers Efficiency Breakdown by Round
OffRtg = Points scored per 100 possessions
DefRtg = Points allowed per 100 possessions
AdjO = OffRtg – opponent’s regular-season DefRtg
AdjD = DefRtg – opponent’s regular-season OffRtg
Rank = Among all teams in each series (out of 28)
Rank in totals row = Among the 16 teams
Explore the highlights of the Indiana Pacers’ journey to the NBA Finals!
14. The Pacers’ effective field goal percentage of 57.6% stands as the second-best statistic for a Finals-bound team up to the conference finals in playoff history. In this postseason, they rank fourth in field goal percentage in the paint (58.7%), first in mid-range efficiency (48.7%), and first in 3-point shooting (40.1%).
15. Aaron Nesmith leads all players with at least 100 field goal attempts in the playoffs, boasting an effective field goal percentage of 64.2%. Myles Turner follows closely at fourth with 60.4%.
16. The Pacers excel in ball movement, ranking second with 364 passes per 24 minutes of possession, while also leading in player movement (11.7 miles traveled per 24 minutes), assist percentage (66.0% of field goals assisted), and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.21). Tyrese Haliburton stands out with 39 assists to Pascal Siakam, significantly higher than any other player’s assists to a single teammate this postseason.
17. Indiana ranks last in both offensive rebounding percentage (23.8%) and in second chance points (both per game and per 100 possessions) throughout the playoffs.
18. They have managed to score 89 points on 62 clutch possessions (143.5 points per 100), marking the best performance for any team that has played at least 25 clutch minutes in the past 29 years of play-by-play data.
19. The Pacers sit at 15th among 16 playoff teams in opponent free-throw attempts per 100 field goal attempts (32.6). Aaron Nesmith leads all players with 4.9 fouls per 36 minutes among those with over 150 playoff minutes.
20. Indiana has allowed a staggering 1.25 points per possession during isolation plays, the worst in the playoffs according to Synergy tracking.
21. They have switched screens on only 12% of ball screens, which is the lowest rate in the playoffs as noted by Second Spectrum.
Both the Pacers and Thunder feature four bench players averaging more than ten minutes in the 2025 NBA playoffs.
22. Indiana’s starting lineup boasts a +16.4 point differential per 100 possessions over their 249 minutes played. In comparison, the Thunder’s starting group is at +4.7. These figures rank second and sixth respectively out of the 11 lineups that have played at least 75 playoff minutes.
23. The Thunder have outscored rivals by 4.2 points per 100 possessions during the 201 minutes that Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein were on the floor together, compared to +16.5 points per 100 (with a significant offensive edge) during the 453 minutes when one was on the court while the other was not.
24. The Pacers score 16 more points per 100 possessions with Tyrese Haliburton on the floor (120.7) compared to when he is off the court (104.7)—the largest offensive on-off differential among rotation players that reached beyond the conference semifinals. Pascal Siakam displays the largest defensive differential, with the Pacers yielding 11.2 fewer points per 100 possessions with him on the floor compared to off.
25. The Thunder lead the playoffs with a +21.6 point differential per 100 possessions with Cason Wallace on the court, the highest figure among 137 players averaging at least 10 minutes per game in the playoffs.
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John Schuhmann serves as a senior stats analyst for NBA.com. For inquiries, you can reach him via email, access his archive here, and follow him on X.
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