01/06/2025
Not the NBA Finals big media wanted but the one pure basketball fans deserve 💯
🍿 They wanted Anthony Edwards and the New York Knicks.
🍿 MSG headlines.
🍿 Slam dunks in primetime.
🍿 Ratings gold.
Instead, we got Indiana Pacers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder. For real hoop heads, it’s poetry in motion.
Indiana got zero egos but lots of buckets.
🔸 The Pacers don’t spam threes (21st in attempts)
🔸 They share the rock (3rd in assists)
🔸 They don’t foul-bait (18th in free throw attempts)
🔸 Seven different guys average double figures
And on the other side? OKC built this the right way:
🔹 68 wins on the 6th cheapest payroll
🔹 Over half the core was drafted
🔹 Only 2 players in the top 100 highest paid (SGA, Hartenstein)
🔹 Their MVP? Just 34th in salary this season
No shortcuts.
No superteams.
No marketing machines.
Just a team that plays ethical basketball and another built ethically from the ground up.
This isn’t what the media scripted.
It’s what basketball needed.
