The NBA Finals is set.
The Indiana Pacers took out the New York Knicks on Saturday night in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals. This allowed the Pacers to book their spot in the Finals, where they will face newly crowned NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are coming off a 4-2 series win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in the West finals.
There's already a lot of anticipation ahead of Game 1 on Thursday in OKC, and Los Angeles Lakers icon Magic Johnson has decided to jump in on the hype train.
"This NBA Championship Series is going to be exciting to watch, especially with Tyrese Haliburton and NBA league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Both teams love to run and fast break, are excellent defensive teams and are well coached!" the Hall of Famer posted on X on Sunday.
Johnson stopped short of predicting a winner between the Thunder and the Pacers, but he's made it abundantly clear that he, too, is very much looking forward to what should be an epic series between two teams that match up well on paper.
Oklahoma City finished the regular season with the best record in the entire NBA (68-14). This means that they get home-court advantage in the Finals, which puts them in a great position to get a head start in this series by winning at home.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) shoots the ball against Indiana Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin (00).
© Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
The Pacers, however, have arguably been the best road team in the NBA playoffs this year. They enter the Finals with a 6-2 record in postseason road games, and they will be looking to make it seven wins come Thursday in Game 1.