NBA Finals preview, expert picks; Oilers rally to top Panthers in OT in Stanley Cup opener

Plus, the NBA All-Star Game is getting a much-needed facelift

By Zachary Pereles

Jun 5, 2025 at 8:51 am ET • 7 min read

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🏀 Good morning to all but especially to ...

THE OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER AND THE INDIANA PACERS

The NBA Finals are here, and they're going to be an absolute dandy. Tonight, the Thunder host the Pacers in Game 1 of what should be an enthralling matchup.

We've already discussed how Oklahoma City got here with three marvelous summers, though Sam Quinn even traced it back to a free agent departure from the Seattle days. (Seattle fans, by the way, are torn.)

Jasmyn Wimbish examined how the Pacers came to be.

Wimbish: "Like the Thunder, this current iteration of the Pacers can really be traced back to a Paul George trade ... The return package was two young guys in Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis. ... Indiana ultimately traded Sabonis to the Kings, who were desperate to find a versatile forward to pair with who they thought was their franchise centerpiece in De'Aaron Fox. Sacramento sent Haliburton to the Pacers, in what was -- and still is -- a shocking decision given Haliburton's ascension with the Kings and obvious upside."

Haliburton wasn't always the star, though. Matt Norlander detailed Haliburton's rise at Iowa State, and as Cameron Salerno noted in his look at every Finals player as a high school recruit, Haliburton wasn't even in the top 175 of his class. Now, he's a superstar leading the a team into the NBA Finals.

Haliburton, who struggled in two regular-season games against Oklahoma City, will have to play well for Indiana to pull what would be a considerable upset. Our expert picks are in, and Jack Maloney says ...

Maloney: "Thunder in six. The Thunder have thrived by overwhelming teams defensively and feasting off turnovers, but the Pacers take care of the ball extremely well. The Pacers have defied the odds at every turn because no one has had an answer for their pace, five-out approach and depth, but the Thunder welcome that style of play. ... While the Pacers may have a slight edge on the offensive end with their shooting, they haven't faced a defense like the Thunder in their run through the East. In the end, the Thunder's defensive brilliance and overall talent advantage will be the difference."

😃 Honorable mentions

These two coaches are early names to monitor in the Knicks' coaching search.
Joe Dumars says the Pelicans are committed to Zion Williamson.
Mike Krzyzewski says Cooper Flagg is the best freshman to ever play at Duke.
Justin Jefferson is embracing a leadership role with the Vikings.
Falcons running back Bijan Robinson wants to be more explosive this season.
Chris Trapasso has best bets for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.
These are the burning questions in the NFC South.
Are the MLB MVP races already over?
MLB All-Star voting is open.
Red Sox center fielder Ceddane Rafaela hit the shortest walk-off home run in the Statcast era. They all count!
The Rockies got their first series sweep in over a year.
Nationals outfielder James Wood is a breakout star.
The Penguins hired Dan Muse as coach.
Brock Nelson signed a three-year extension with the Avalanche.
UConn and Kansas men's basketball will begin a home-and-home series this season, and it sounds like Dan Hurley will be there.
Here are the French Open results.
Texas got a wild, controversial Game 1 win over Texas Tech in the Women's College World Series championship series.

😕 Not so honorable mentions

Trevon Diggs could be fined a lot for missing offseason activities.
Rick Carlisle was shocked the Knicks fired Tom Thibodeau.
Karl-Anthony Towns is undergoing treatment on playoff injuries.
Rory McIlroy was none too happy that the news of his non-conforming driver leaked.
The bettor who harassed three-time Olympic gold medalist Gabby Thomas at a meet has been banned from FanDuel.
A freshman Florida football player was arrested for alleged false imprisonment.
Twins ace Pablo López will be out 2-3 months with a shoulder issue.

🏒 Stanley Cup Final Game 1: Leon Draisaitl scores overtime winner for Oilers

It was always going to be those two, wasn't it? Leon Draisaitl scored the game-winning power-play overtime goal off a Connor McDavid pass to lift the Oilers to a 4-3 win over the Panthers in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Draisaitl opened the scoring just 1:06 into the contest, stuffing home a rebound.
But Sam Bennett got to the front of the net and deflected Carter Verhaeghe's shot into the net, and Brad Marchand tallied a power play goal to give Florida a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes.
Bennett struck again, this time finishing beautifully on an odd-man rush, early in the second period, only for the Oilers to draw within one 77 seconds later on Viktor Arvidsson's shot through a screen.
In the third period, McDavid finally got going, delivering a beautiful backhand assist to Mattias Ekholm to tie the game.
With under a minute left in the first overtime session, McDavid took a crafty behind-the-back pass from Corey Perry and found a wide-open Draisaitl, who buried it.

Again, it really couldn't have been anyone else. It was Draisaitl's third overtime goal of these playoffs, tied for most in a single postseason, and it was McDavid's 32nd career multi-assist playoff game, tying Ray Bourque, Doug Gilmour and Sidney Crosby for third-most all-time.

Edmonton's superstar duo has to keep shining, Austin Nivison writes in his takeaways. So far, so good.

🏀 NBA All-Star Game to feature USA vs. the World

Adam Silver knows the NBA All-Star Game has been lacking, and "lacking" is putting it very nicely. At least for one year, he's planning to change it. The NBA commissioner said a USA vs. the World format is in the works for the 2026 All-Star Game.

This idea is years in the making, and several stars -- most recently Giannis Antetokounmpo -- have endorsed a USA-vs.-World format.
The 2026 All-Star Weekend coincides with the Winter Olympics, too, which makes an international flair all the more appropriate.
Silver, who noted the success of the 4 Nations Face-Off in the NHL last February, said the 2026 All-Star Game will be an afternoon affair that will lead into evening Olympic coverage.

All-Star selections are significant in contract negotiations, and the NBA is still overwhelmingly American -- 19 of the 26 selections/replacements of the 2025 event were Americans -- so figuring out an equitable system (or perhaps going without one) is a hurdle.

🏀 Suns hire Jordan Ott ahead of tear-down offseason

After a considerable search, the Suns hired Jordan Ott as coach.

Ott comes over from the Cavaliers, where he was an assistant coach for the team's 64-18 season. Before that, he was an assistant with the Lakers and the Nets and a video coordinator for the Hawks.
Ott will be Phoenix's fourth different coach in four years. The Suns fired Mike Budenholzer this offseason, Frank Vogel the offseason before that and Monty Williams the offseason before that.
Ott continues the Michigan State influence under owner Mat Ishbia, who played for the Spartans. Ott got a master's degree from Michigan State and served on Tom Izzo's staff.

Ott inherits a team that is expected to trade Kevin Durant this summer and, given the dearth of future assets, could face a long road ahead.

🏈 Ranking the top new QB/WR and QB/coach duos

Offseason practices are ripe for overreactions, especially at quarterback play. Every interception is met with both "He stinks" and "It's only practice; time to experiment." Every touchdown is met with both "He looks so good" and "It's only practice; these don't matter."

The last one is probably the only accurate one, especially this early. It's only practice, good or bad. Still, it's fun to envision what could be for new pairs, and we've done just that. Tyler Sullivan ranked the top 15 new quarterback/wide receiver duos, while Cody Benjamin ranked the 13 new quarterback/coach duos.

I, like Tyler, am super excited for No. 1 on his list.

Sullivan: "1. Matthew Stafford and Davante Adams -- In his final five games of the regular season, Adams caught 36 balls for 510 yards and five touchdowns. That's a 122-1,734-17 pace over a full 17-game season. With Stafford, Adams clearly upgraded at quarterback, and with Puka Nacua lining up opposite of him within a Sean McVay-led offense, this pairing should take the league by storm in 2025."

Adams is making a positive impact on Nacua, too.

📺 What we're watching Thursday

⚾ Diamondbacks at Braves, 12:15 p.m. on MLB Network
⚾ Mets at Dodgers, 4:10 p.m. on MLB Network
⚾ Guardians at Yankees, 7:05 p.m. on MLB Network
🥎 Texas vs. Texas Tech (Texas leads 1-0), 8 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Game 1: Pacers at Thunder, 8:30 p.m. on ABC