The NBA’s In-Season Tournament — officially rebranded as the Emirates NBA Cup in 2024 — has been searching for a signature moment to solidify its meaning to fans, and the 2025 NBA Finals matchup between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers might have just created it.
Why? Well, because Oklahoma City and Indiana have something in common besides being two of the league’s smallest markets: They are also the last two runners up in the NBA Cup, with the Pacers losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the inaugural Las Vegas competition in 2023, and the Thunder losing to the Milwaukee Bucks in 2024’s version.
Clearly, both
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