Inexperience will be a theme of the 2025 NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers. The Thunder are returning to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012 and the Pacers for the first time since 2000, when a good chunk of their roster hadn’t even been born yet.
For the majority of players that will be competing, this will mark their first appearances in the NBA Finals. Though every player has now garnered some playoff experience, only four players on both teams combined have previously competed in the Finals. Just three have won championships.
Here is a look at every player that is making their NBA Finals debut this year.
|
Player |
Age |
Position |
|---|---|---|
|
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander |
26 |
PG |
|
Chet Holmgren |
23 |
PF |
|
Aaron Wiggins |
26 |
SG |
|
Jalen Williams |
24 |
F |
|
Luguentz Dort |
26 |
G |
|
Jaylin Williams |
22 |
F |
|
Branden Carlson |
25 |
C |
|
Ousmane Dieng |
22 |
F |
|
Alex Ducas |
24 |
G |
|
Adam Flager |
25 |
F |
|
Isaiah Hartenstein |
27 |
C |
|
Isaiah Joe |
25 |
SG |
|
Dillon Jones |
23 |
F |
|
Ajay Mitchell |
22 |
G |
|
Nikola Topic |
19 |
G |
|
Cason Wallace |
21 |
G |
|
Kenrich Williams |
30 |
SF |
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes his first trip to the NBA Finals on the heels of winning his first NBA MVP award. Gilgeous-Alexander was voted the MVP after leading the league in scoring by averaging 32.7 points per game. So far this postseason, he’s averaged 29.8 points, 6.9 assists, and 5.7 rebounds per game.
Gilgeous-Alexander and Dort are the longest-tenured players on the team, having joined Oklahoma City in 2019. Six years later, they are now leading a young squad to the NBA Finals.
Holmgren and Jalen Williams were both first-round picks by the Thunder in 2022, and alongside Dort and Wiggins, make up the young core of the team that has spent their careers only with the Thunder so far, and are now reaping the benefits by reaching the Finals.
|
Player |
Age |
Position |
|---|---|---|
|
Tyrese Haliburton |
25 |
PG |
|
Myles Turner |
29 |
C |
|
Bennedict Mathurin |
22 |
SG |
|
Obi Toppin |
27 |
PF |
|
T.J. McConnell |
33 |
PG |
|
Andrew Nembhard |
25 |
PG |
|
James Johnson |
38 |
PF |
|
Tony Bradley |
27 |
C |
|
RayJ Dennis |
24 |
G |
|
Enrique Freeman |
24 |
F |
|
John Furphy |
20 |
F |
|
Isaiah Jackson |
23 |
SF |
|
Quenton Jackson |
26 |
G |
|
Ben Sheppard |
23 |
G |
|
Jarace Walker |
21 |
F |
Tyrese Haliburton leads a Pacers group that is looking to win their first NBA championship in franchise history. Though he was voted the most overrated player in the league by a poll from The Athletic earlier this season, Haliburton led the NBA in assists per game this year and has brought his team to the Finals for the first time since 2000.
Turner, the team’s longest-tenured player, makes his first career NBA Finals. He has spent his entire career with the Pacers since they took him in the 2015 NBA draft, and he finally gets the opportunity to compete for his first title.
Like Williams and Holmgren of the Thunder, Mathurin is another first-round pick from the 2022 NBA draft class making his NBA Finals debut in just the third year of his career. Both the Thunder and Pacers hitting on their picks in that class has proven key in them reaching this point.
|
Current Team |
Player |
Previous Finals Appearance(s) |
Result |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Thunder |
Alex Caruso |
With the Lakers in 2020 |
Lakers beat the Heat in six. |
|
Pacers |
Pascal Siakam |
With the Raptors in 2019. |
Raptors beat the Warriors in six. |
|
Pacers |
Aaron Nesmith |
With the Celtics in 2022 |
Celtics lost to the Warriors in six. |
|
Pacers |
Thomas Bryant |
With the Nuggets in 2023 |
Nuggets beat the Heat in five. |
