The NBA Finals are officially here, and this year's matchup may signify a changing of the guard in terms of top players in the league.
Coming out of the Western Conference are the Oklahoma City Thunder, who posted one of the best regular season records in NBA history at 68-14, led by MVP winner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The Eastern Conference representatives are the Indiana Pacers, who have pulled off upset after upset throughout the playoffs as the No. 4 seed, and are led by rising star Tyrese Haliburton.
Despite theoretically being the two best teams in the league, the Thunder have opened the series as one of the biggest favorites (-700) in NBA Finals history. As if having the oddsmakers going against them wasn't enough, the Pacers also appear to have Mother Nature working against them as well.
Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton stands on the court during Game 4 against the New York Knicks at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton stands on the court during Game 4 against the New York Knicks at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
As reported by Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files, both the threat of thunderstorm and tornadoes ended up delaying the Pacers' flight to Oklahoma City ahead of Thursday's Game 1.
"According to flight data, the plane landed at Will Rogers International Airport at 7:58 p.m. ET — five hours after takeoff, about twice as long as the expected flight time," wrote Agness.
The Pacers are set to be Oklahoma City for the next five days, with Agness reporting they will hold a practice before each game.
According to the oddsmakers at ESPN BET, the Thunder are 9.5-point favorites for Game 1. ESPN's Matchup Predictor also heavily favors the Thunder, giving them a 65.6% chance of winning.
While the Pacers have some time to recuperate, the weather delay certainly isn't ideal considering it's before their biggest series in decades.