The 2024-25 Indiana Pacers: Shakespeare’s equivalent of an underdog run

With the end of the Indiana Pacers’ 2024-25 season comes the end of arguably the most memorable Finals run in NBA history. But what will be remembered the most? It's incredible, rising action or the tragic denouement that befell it?

(Image Credit to Getty Images/Nathaniel S. Butler.)

Act 1: Belief

+5000 odds to win the NBA title during the preseason.

Those were the Indiana Pacers’ odds to win the NBA title before the season started. 

Despite the long odds, this team was coming off an Eastern Conference Finals appearance the previous season. In it, they were swept by the eventual NBA champions, the Boston Celtics. 

But the belief was there. It was so strong that star players like Pascal Siakam, who won a title before with the Toronto Raptors, forgotten Knicks prospect Obi Toppin, and Canadian-born Andrew Nembhard all re-signed with the Pacers in the offseason. Alongside established stars like Myles Turner and our story’s main character, Tyrese Haliburton, this Pacers team was bound for a playoff return. 

The first month of the season? Didn’t signify “playoff return” in the slightest. After a quarter of the season, the Pacers sat at 9-14 and had been eliminated from the in-season tournament. Things needed to change. 

And change they did. The Pacers won seven of eleven to close out the month of December, before going 34-14 to close out the regular season; this run included a 10-2 record in the month of January. It was a finish strong enough to earn them a return trip to the playoffs and the fourth overall seed. It also meant a first-round rematch with the Milwaukee Bucks, whom the Pacers eliminated the season prior in the opening round of the playoffs. 

Act 2: The run begins

+6500 odds to win the NBA title entering the playoffs. 

The Pacers’ playoff run got off to a quite predictable start as they eliminated the Milwaukee Bucks in five games. It would only be what came next that would influence the monumentality of their run. 

In the second round, the Pacers came up against the Cleveland Cavaliers. But not just any Cleveland Cavaliers team. This was a Cavs team that finished the regular season with a 64-18 record, was one of the top-scoring teams in the league, and was bested in terms of regular-season performance by only the Oklahoma City Thunder. 

The good news for the Pacers? They won the season series 3-1 against the Cavaliers. They knew they could play with them and that, more importantly, they could beat them. And beat them, they did. It was a five-game series where Indiana was clearly the better team. 

For the Conference Finals, one would assume that the Pacers would be set to face off against Boston in a rematch of the previous season's Conference Finals. Well, in that case, one would be wrong. For context, the Boston Celtics lost 4-2 to the New York Knicks in their second-round series; this was a series where the Knicks won the first two games after completing double-digit comebacks in both affairs, all before having to grind out their final two wins and hold off a determined but weakened Celtics team. 

The Pacers’ matchup with the Knicks would be a rematch of their second-round series in the previous season’s playoffs, which Indiana won in seven games. But this was a far better and far healthier Knicks team than the one Indiana defeated the previous season. Even then, the magic continued. After winning the first two games in nailbiter fashion, with the first win coming from an unbelievable buzzer-beater shot by Tyrese Haliburton that forced the game into overtime, the Pacers had to do to the Knicks what they did to the Celtics: grind it out. Despite the Knicks winning a closely-fought Game 3 in Indianapolis and then dominating Game 5 back in New York City, the Pacers found a way to dominate in Game 6 and clinch an NBA Finals appearance in front of their home fans. 

At this stage, it felt like anything could happen. It felt like the Pacers could avenge last season’s loss and get their loyal core and fanbase a championship to celebrate their efforts. 

And anything that did come to happen in the Finals. Both the good and the bad. 

Act 3: Much further than expected

+525 odds to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals. 

Before Game 1 of the NBA Finals, the Oklahoma City Thunder were seen as massive favourites to capture their first NBA title since their relocation from Seattle. 18 regular-season wins separated these teams' records heading into the Finals. And many people didn’t even see the series going long at all. 

But the Pacers proved people wrong before, and they were out to do it again. Despite being down 57-45 at halftime in Game 1, the Pacers battled back to ultimately win the game 111-110, with Tyrese Haliburton hitting a go-ahead shot with only 0.3 seconds left on the clock. First blood went to Indiana. 1-0 Pacers. 

Game 2 was a much different story. While Indiana could have earned a stranglehold on the regular season's best team, Oklahoma City dominated from start to finish to earn a 123-107 Game 2 win. One win apiece.  

With the series shifting to Indiana, the tone of the series shifted once again. While Oklahoma City won the first quarter by eight points, Indiana responded with a 40-28 second quarter, leading the Thunder by four heading into halftime. And despite being down five heading into the fourth quarter, the Pacers dominated in that final frame to win the game 116-107. Indiana 2, Oklahoma City 1. 

Like how the Pacers dominated the fourth quarter in Game 3, the Pacers looked like the better team for much of Game 4. But despite how good they looked, they were only up 7 heading into the fourth quarter. It was at that point that the script was flipped again, this time by the Oklahoma City Thunder, who dominated in the fourth to win Game 4 111-104. Like against Denver, the Thunder rallied to avoid a 3-1 deficit. Knotted up at 2. 

Game 5 saw much of the same dominance from Oklahoma City. Indiana got off to a rough start, and Tyrese Haliburton aggravated a lower left leg injury. Nonetheless, point guard T.J McConnell led a rally that would see the Pacers’ eighteen-point deficit cut to just two points with under nine minutes left. But the Thunder responded with a 21-8 run that helped push them to a 120-109 Game 5 win. For Oklahoma City, it was one win from glory. For Indiana, it was one win from more “what if” questions. 

The good news for Indiana is that Game 6 saw another flipping of the script, this time in their favour. Tyrese Haliburton fought through his injury and helped Indiana to a dominant 108-91 Game 6 victory. The questions were pushed back for the time being; Game 7 in Oklahoma City was on the menu. 

Everything on the line. But as the game grew closer, so did a looming tragedy. 

Act 4: Tragedy at the worst possible time

+225 to win Game 7

Like in the preseason, the beginning of the playoffs, and even at the tipoff of the Finals, the Pacers were regarded as the underdogs. These underdogs, however, were only one game away from completing the greatest championship run in NBA history on a high note. 

And it looked that way early on. Just under halfway through the first half, Tyrese Haliburton would hit a long-distance three-point shot to put Indiana up 14-10. With that shot, it seemed like Indiana had once again brought their A-game and their momentum into a crucial encounter with Oklahoma City. 

But only minutes later, tragedy would strike. 

With Tyrese Haliburton controlling the ball, he would end up reaggravating his lower left leg injury on an attempted drive to the basket. The Pacers' star player, who had helped Indiana secure many of the critical wins that brought the team to this monumental game, would be exiting just seven minutes in with a devastating injury. 

In these circumstances, one would expect the emotion to hit hard. It didn’t. Indiana fought valiantly and with everything they had, securing a one-point lead heading into halftime. Even with their star player gone, the belief was still there. Just thirty minutes more, and they would win their first championship in team history. 

That is where tragedy struck once again. A quick run by Oklahoma City put the Pacers down by five, and Indiana would find themselves down thirteen heading into the final frame. The Pacers would get things together in the fourth, but it was too little, too late. They would fall short to the Oklahoma City Thunder. 

And while this Pacers’ run ends in heartbreak, it’s worth noting that runs like this only happen so often. This was also Indiana’s first NBA Finals appearance since 2000, and the team had gone through so many one-and-dones and so many rebuilds and retools just to shape the roster the way it is today. So many young rosters aspire to be where Oklahoma City and Indiana found themselves, yet it is only so rare that a team as young as these two gets everything right.

And now, the questions re-emerge for Indiana. The most important one: what’s next?

There’s no doubt that, regardless of what the roster looks like next season, this run will serve as vital experience for this team. But the impact of the Tyrese Haliburton injury will loom large. Could he be out half the season? Most of it? All of it? Regardless of the extent of the injury, it will be incredibly hard for this Pacers team to replicate what they did in the 2024-25 season. 

But isn’t that what sports can be about? The special moments that fans, players, and executives hold dear and true to their hearts. No matter what happens next year, the Pacers organisation and its fans will remember this run for its tragedies and its shortcomings. But on top of all that, the Pacers’ run will be remembered for its significance and simply in celebration of all the achievements that came with it for generations to come. 

Article written by Noah Guttman