The 2025 NBA Finals begins Thursday when the Oklahoma City Thunder host the Indiana Pacers in Game 1. The Thunder are making their first finals appearance since 2012 — when Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden were on the roster. Indiana will be playing on the biggest stage in basketball for the first time since 2000.
The Thunder and Pacers have taken aggressive and similar approaches on the trade market to reach the finals. Oklahoma City dealt Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers in a haul that included future NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Indiana traded for its franchise star by dealing Domantas Sabonis to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Tyrese Haliburton.
This year’s NBA Finals will see six former five-star prospects from the 247Sports rankings over the years. Oklahoma City has three former five-star recruits on its roster (Gilgeous-Alexander, Cason Wallace and Chet Holmgren). Indiana has four former five-star recruits: Myles Turner, Andrew Nembhard, Jarace Walker and Thomas Bryant.
2025 NBA Finals preview: Thunder vs. Pacers storylines, including star PG matchup and Paul George history
Jasmyn Wimbish
While former blue-chip recruits have a clearer path to NBA stardom, other under-the-radar recruits have emerged as stars. Thunder forward Jalen Williams — an All-NBA selection this past season — was unranked coming out of high school and played three seasons at Santa Clara. Pacers star forward Pascal Siakam was also unranked coming out of high school. He played two seasons at New Mexico State in the mid-2010s before rising to NBA stardom almost a decade later.
Here is how each team’s roster stacked up as high school recruits.
Oklahoma City Thunder
- Five-star recruits: 3
- Four-star recruits: 3
- Three-star recruits: 2
- Unranked/International: 7
Indiana Pacers
- Five-star recruits: 4
- Four-star recruits: 4
- Three-star recruits: 1
- Unranked/International: 5
