Indiana Pacers players were captured at their most vulnerable as they walked off the court following a Game 7 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday night in the 2025 NBA Finals. And based on the behavior of one Pacers staffer, an ESPN cameraman may have gone too far in capturing the emotion of T.J. McConnell.
McConnell gave his team everything he could following the departure of an injured Tyrese Haliburton, finishing the game with 16 points in 28 minutes of action in a series where he was largely been the unexpected hero for his team.
Despite his best efforts, it was not enough to lead the Pacers to an NBA championship. And all of the passion that he played with in the series spilled out as he walked to the locker room with Pacers VP of player relations Karen Atkeon after the game.
McConnell’s walk to the locker room was captured by a trailing ESPN cameraman, who seemingly got too close for comfort for Atkeon, who shooed him away and yelled at him to “stop” as T.J. hung his head on her shoulder.
An ESPN camera got a little too close to T.J. McConnell after the Pacers fell in Game 7 to the Thunder and is told to stop filming. pic.twitter.com/a8s9IhHq5G
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 23, 2025
These kinds of camera shots have become standard in the NBA over the years. But after a Game 7 loss, it is fair to question whether it is necessary to show players breaking down emotionally after such a hard fought battle, especially after they’ve left the court.
On the other hand, the man behind the camera is simply doing his job. So it’s hard to really blame him on an individual level for showing McConnell in such a vulnerable state.
At the end of the day, sports fans love the raw emotion that comes with the agony of defeat. So don’t expect these kinds of camera angles to go away anytime soon.