Two teams are left standing in the 2025 NBA playoffs: the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers. The 2025 NBA Finals get started on Thursday night in Oklahoma City, and the Thunder are heavily favored to win their first title in OKC.

Today on The Whiteboard, a stats-based preview of the NBA Finals plus the latest NBA news about Giannis Antetokounmpo and more.

Here are five things to know about Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Diagneault, a UConn graduate and former student manager.

Oklahoma City. There’s a song stuck in my head as the 2025 NBA Finals near, and I’d be reluctant to reference it — it’s from “Annie, Get Your Gun” — if not for a new-millennium updating with none less than this league’s GOAT. Anything the Indiana Pacers can do, the Oklahoma City Thunder can do better.

ESPN host Malika Andrews not only delivered courtside coverage during the Western Conference finals, but she also wowed the audience with her strong fashion game that was hard not to miss.

Oklahoma City Thunder guard and NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continues to rack up the hardware this season.

The Dallas Stars have their backs against the wall as they take the ice for Game 5 of the Western Conference finals against the Edmonton Oilers. The Stars have dropped three straight games to Edmonton, including a 4-1 loss in Tuesday’s Game 4 that dropped Dallas into a 3-1 hole.

The NBA Finals matchup between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers is poised to make history in nearly 20 years.