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Charles Barkley Predicts Winner of Pacers-Thunder NBA Finals
Charles Barkley Predicts Winner of Pacers-Thunder NBA Finals originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The NBA Finals are set to begin Thursday night between the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder. According to DraftKings Sportsbook, the Thunder are heavy favorites at minus-650.
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Ahead of the series, NBA legend Charles Barkley—who recently wrapped up an historic run with TNT alongside his "Inside the NBA" crew Shaquille O'Neal, Ernie Johnson, and Kenny Smith (all moving to ESPN next year)—shared his thoughts during an appearance on Sirius XM's NBA Radio Interviews on Monday.
Barkley remains very confident that the Thunder are destined to be champions, highlighting their defense as one of the best he's ever seen.
"I think it's an all-time defensive team. In my opinion, I think they're the best defensive team—I'd put them up there with the Bulls, the Bad Boy Pistons," Barkley said. "You've got to give Sam Presti some credit. He went out and got Caruso and Hartenstein... and now they've got a really, really good team. You've got to give them their flowers, I think they will finish this thing off. But if they win this thing... you gotta say man, they're pretty special."
11-time NBA All-Star and "Inside the NBA" host Charles Terada-Imagn Images
Barkley has been backing the Thunder since the start of the playoffs, and they've given him no reason to jump off that train that's been rolling all season long.
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However, these were his first comments on the specific matchup following the Pacers' victory over the New York Knicks over the weekend, and now that the showdown is set, he hasn't wavered one bit.
Oklahoma City finished the regular season with a league-best 68-14 overall record, and while the Denver Nuggets gave them a scare and pushed them to seven games in the second round, they won Game 7 by 32 points.
They swept their first-round series against the Memphis Grizzlies and just got done beating the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games.
If they can defeat the Pacers, it would mark the Thunder's first NBA championship since relocating from Seattle—where they were formerly known as the SuperSonics—to Oklahoma City in 2008.
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Related: Paul Pierce Predicts Winner of Pacers–Thunder NBA Finals
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 4, 2025, where it first appeared.
