Game 5 will undoubtedly go down as one of the biggest performances in Williams’ career as he dropped 40 points to push the Thunder to victory. In fact, he passed his idol Kobe as well as Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo in needing just 35 minutes to reach that 40-point mark, the fewest for a 40-point game in NBA Finals history. It took Kobe and Giannis 38 minutes to do so.

After some struggles earlier in the playoffs, Williams has transcended to a new level and much of that has to do with him embracing that ‘Mamba Mentality’ the Lakers legend was known for, as he spoke about in an interview with ESPN’s Malika Andrews:

“I’m a big Kobe fan, yeah… Just like the mentality. Obviously I don’t think I play anything like Kobe, I kind of threw that out when I was younger. But the more I get in these positions, the more I understand like the way that he was and I think that’s what makes it fun to be in these situations.”

It’s normal for many players to struggle deeper into the playoffs, especially when they’re young and haven’t experienced the intensity before. Williams has taken his lumps and growing pains, just like Bryant did in his early days with the Lakers, and now he is ready and able to take on anything that gets thrown his way.

Williams is averaging 25.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists in the NBA Finals so far and only seems to be getting more comfortable as the series progresses. And if he can put together one more amazing performance, he will be hoisting his first Larry O’Brien trophy.

Jalen Williams sees a lot of similarities between Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lakers legend Kobe Bryant

Of course it is Jalen Williams’ teammate, the 2025 NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who has been getting much of the attention all year long and rightfully so. In the midst of it, the Thunder guard has drawn some comparisons to Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and Williams says he sees ‘a lot of similarities’ between the two.

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The social media age has made it easy to forego in-depth analysis in exchange for hot takes and reactionary content. While the NBA remains as popular as ever, the discourse about the game itself leaves much to be desired.

James and his co-host Steve Nash have tried to steer basketball conversations back to Xs and Os via their podcast “Mind the Game,” and the two do a wonderful job of breaking down concepts and ideas.

On the most recent episode of the popular podcast, James lamented the 2025 NBA Finals coverage:

“Yeah, absolutely and we all have a story. And there’s a lot of stories that can be told on the OKC roster and the Pacers roster. Do the guys that preach our game want to…do they want to do the homework and take the time out to actually tell these stories? And it doesn’t seem that way. It’s just what can I say without truth or without knowledge or this is what I wanna say and there’s no accountability behind it. I think that now goes to our fans. We have to protect our players and protect our product. The one thing that I know for sure when it comes to players…before it was like I couldn’t be seen or I wouldn’t be heard if I was in a small market. I had to be in L.A., I had to be in New York, I had to be in Chicago, I had to be in certain markets in order to be seen, in order to be heard. Well, that’s not the case now. The case now with social media, with every single day around the clock coverage of our game, good or bad, you could perform anywhere. You could perform anywhere and be great anywhere. So the whole notion of I don’t wanna play in a small market or you shouldn’t be in a small market, that is gone. That is flushed down the toilet because obviously we look at now we have the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder representing the NBA Finals. That narrative is gone. We need to teach the game. We need to talk about the game, but also have a better understanding of storytelling. I think that just helps our product and it helps our fans relate to the players that they…outside the market of OKC or outside the market of Indiana maybe they don’t know a lot about these guys.”

James also added that he doesn’t think the NBA Finals being between two small-market teams should matter less and it speaks to how deep the talent pool in the NBA is right now. The game has never had so many good players and instead the media tends to focus on narrative-driven stories that tear them down versus celebrating them.

It’s a shame that the Pacers-Thunder coverage hasn’t been 100 percent about what happens on the floor, but the NBA has to be pleased with the quality of the games and the fan interest thus far.

LeBron James calls Orlando bubble postseason the purest form of hoops

LeBron James’ most recent championship title is arguably the hardest one of his career due to numerous factors including being forced to play in the Bubble at Disney World in Orlando. However, James admitted that the games in the Bubble were the purest form of hoops.

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The Thunder enter the series as the odds-on favorite and for good reason as they were the best team during the 2024-25 season and have taken their defense to another level in the playoffs. On the other side is the Pacers, who overcame several tough series behind their fast and explosive offense.

While James may not be playing, he’s been paying close attention to the playoffs and has praised some of the young stars like Tyrese Haliburton, who have worked hard to get to this point. Indiana-Oklahoma City is an intriguing matchup for several reasons and James broke down why on his “Mind the Game” podcast:

The league's best offense meets the league's best defense. Who's bringing it home?

A new episode previewing The NBA Finals is out now. Watch on our YouTube, @primevideo or listen wherever you get your podcasts: https://t.co/d4w7TipatH pic.twitter.com/DivNTfYux3

— Mind the Game (@mindthegamepod) June 4, 2025

In the video, James defines the series as Oklahoma City being the best defense in the league going up against Indiana’s pace and space offensive attack plan. James goes so far as to call it a perfect match up and it’s easy to see why given the strengths of each of the teams and how they each got to this point.

James goes on to explain that the Thunder and Pacers series will feature plenty of decisions of what to give up and what not to give up, though he harps again on the former being the best defensive team left while Indiana made their run by playing faster than almost everyone else.

In the postseason, having a top-tier defense is a common thread for most championship teams but that shouldn’t rule out the Pacers who have proven time and time again that they can erase deficits in a hurry. Oklahoma City may have the upper hand from a talent and depth perspective, but Indiana is no slouch.

Luka Doncic calls it ‘unbelievable’ to play alongside LeBron James

The Lakers are expected to be back in the title conversation next season as they have LeBron James and Luka Doncic to lead the way. Doncic only had less than half a season to work with James but he called the experience ‘unbelievable’ so far.

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Johnson took to social media to give his thoughts on the series, which he believes will be a closer one than people think:

The Pacers vs. OKC Series will be a lot closer than people think! It’ll be a truly exciting series because both the Pacers and the Thunder average well over 100 points per game (ppg) ranking 2nd and 3rd for ppg in the NBA respectively while still being two of the best defensive…

— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) June 3, 2025

The Pacers are certainly a more than capable team who could give the Thunder a lot of trouble in this series. Magic putting the Pacers in the Thunder’s world defensively, however, is selling Oklahoma City way short as they have been putting forth a historically good defensive effort not seen in the NBA in decades.

Johnson also discussed the point guard matchup between Thunder superstar and league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton:

You have the NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and in my opinion, the MVP throughout the entire Western Conference Playoffs on one side. On the other side we have – Tyrese Haliburton, who in my opinion, was Eastern Conference MVP throughout the entire Playoffs. This will be an…

— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) June 3, 2025

The two are undoubtedly the leaders of their respective teams and how each of them performs will set the tone, even though they play completely different styles. Ahead of Game 1 on Thursday night, Johnson gave a warning to the Thunder about taking the Pacers lightly at home as they have been road warriors throughout these playoffs:

The Oklahoma City Thunder should be worried about Indiana because the Pacers have been a great road team in this year’s Playoffs. Throughout the Playoffs they beat the Bucks in Milwaukee once at home in the first round, the #1 seeded Cavaliers three times in Cleveland in the…

— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) June 4, 2025

This is an interesting point as the Pacers have proven themselves capable time and time again of winning in hostile environments. But the Thunder have also been dominant at home, going 8-1 with those wins coming by an average of nearly 28 points.

There might be some who are down on this NBA Finals, but Magic is not one of them and the Lakers legend brought up some good reasons as to why this series could be a great one.

Lakers legend Magic Johnson apologizes for underestimating Thunder

Even though Magic Johnson is warning the Thunder to not take the Pacers lightly, he recently had to apologize himself for not believing in Oklahoma City coming into these playoffs.

The Lakers legend apologized to the Thunder on social media for underestimating them and not believing they were ready to compete for an NBA Championship while also giving credit to general manager Sam Presti on the job he did building that roster.

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The No. 1 seed Thunder made quick work of the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round before running into a Denver Nuggets team that pushed their series to seven games. The series against Denver seemed to prepare Oklahoma City for their Western Conference Finals tilt against the Minnesota Timberwolves as the former won in five games. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was named the Western Conference Finals MVP for his efforts in the series.

On the other side of the bracket, the Pacers were able to dispatch the Milwaukee Bucks in five games before upsetting the Cleveland Cavaliers in the next round. Indiana then took on the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals and managed to outlast them in six games. Pascal Siakam took home Eastern Conference Finals MVP honors.

This marks the first time Oklahoma City and Indiana will meet in the Finals and the series winner will capture their respective franchise’s first NBA title. The Thunder last made the Finals in 2012 with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden. However, the Pacers’ Finals drought is even longer as the last time they advanced this far was in 2000 behind Reggie Miller when they lose to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The matchup features two of the youngest and athletic teams in the league, though Oklahoma City is being touted as the heavy favorite due to their defense, size, length and depth. This doesn’t mean Indiana should be taken lightly as they’ve proven to be able to overcome large deficits because of their pace and outside shooting.

The most interesting matchup is between Gilgeous-Alexander and Haliburton, two of the premier point guards in the NBA though play drastically differnet. Gilgeous-Alexander is a surgeon in the mid-range area, but he’s also a crafty player who can either get all the way to the rim or shoot it from deep. Meanwhile, Tyrese Haliburton is a genius playmaker who also has a knack for hitting clutch shots with the game on the line.

Parity is at an all-time high in the league and it’ll be exciting to see who will be the next NBA champion.

2025 NBA Finals Info

#1 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. #4 Indiana Pacers

Game 1: June 5 @ Oklahoma City, 5:30 p.m. PT, ABC
Game 2: June 8 @ Oklahoma City, 5:00 p.m. PT, ABC
Game 3: June 11 @ Indiana, 5:30 p.m. PT, ABC
Game 4: June 13 @ Indiana, 5:30 p.m. PT, ABC
Game 5 (if necessary): June 16 @ Oklahoma City, 5:30 p.m. PT, ABC
Game 6 (if necessary): June 19 @ Indiana, 5:30 p.m. PT, ABC
Game 7 (if necessary): June 22 @ Oklahoma City, 5:00 p.m. PT, ABC

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