New York Knicks And OKC Thunder Favored In 2025 NBA Conference Finals

The king (and Kings) are dead.

Long live the king.

For the eighth time in as many seasons, the NBA will crown a new champion in 2025 after a series of playoff upsets resulted in only one No. 1 seed — the 68-win Oklahoma City Thunder — advancing to the conference finals that begin Tuesday.

West No. 6 seed Minnesota and East No. 4 seed Indiana are the only members of the 2024 Final Four to make it this far again, and both were underdogs in the last round.

The Timberwolves were considered among the least likely to repeat from a field that included the defending champion Boston Celtics, the refurbished Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers, and the 2023 champion Denver Nuggets.

No NBA team has repeated since the Steve Kerr/Kevin Durant/Stephen Curry Warriors in 2017-18, when Durant was the Finals MVP both years.

Among this group, only the Knicks have won a title, and that was a 52 years ago.

To get here, Indiana and Oklahoma City ripened and matured, making small changes to their 2024 rosters. Minnesota and the Knicks retooled among themselves, trading power forwards in a deal that paid off for both.

Injuries played a role in determining the finalists, as happens.

The Knicks beat Boston in six games, blowing out the Celtics 119-81 in Game 6 when the Celtics were without leading scorer Jayson Tatum, who suffered a ruptured Achilles late in Game 4. The Celtics held home court without Tatum in Game 5, but another win was too much.

The No. 3 seed Knicks will have home court advantage against the No. 4 seed Indiana in the East finals, which begin Wednesday.

Minnesota powered past the too-small Lakers in five games in the first round and benefitted from a Game 1 left hamstring strain to the Warriors’ Stephen Curry in the West semifinals, an absence that even Playoff Jimmy Butler could not overcome.

The T-Wolves’ won the final four games of the series and will meet the league-best Thunder in the West finals that begin Tuesday. Minnesota is looking to avenge last season’s series loss to Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks.

2025 NBA Western Conference Finals Schedule

Tuesday: Minnesota at Oklahoma City, 8:30 pm ET, ESPN

Thursday: Minnesota at Oklahoma City, 8:30 pm ET, ESPN

Saturday: Oklahoma City at Minnesota, 8:30 pm ET, ABC

Monday: Oklahoma City at Minnesota, 8:30 pm ET, ESPN

May 28: Minnesota at Oklahoma City, 8:30 pm ET, ESPN (if necessary)

May 30: Oklahoma City at Minnesota, 8:30 pm ET, ESPN (if necessary)

June 1: Minnesota at Oklahoma City, 8 pm ET, ESPN (if necessary)

2025 NBA Eastern Conference Finals Schedule

Wednesday: Indiana at New York, 8 pm ET, TNT/Max

Friday: Indiana at New York, 8 pm ET, TNT/Max

Sunday: New York at Indiana, 8 pm ET, TNT/Max

May 27: New York at Indiana, 8 pm ET, TNT/Max

May 29: Indiana at New York, 8 pm ET, TNT/Max (if necessary)

May 31: New York at Indiana, 8 pm ET, TNT/Max (if necessary)

June 2: Indiana at New York, 8 pm ET, TNT/Max (if necessary)

A No. 1 seed team has won eight of the last 12 championships. A No. 2 seed has won twice in that span, as has a No. 3 seed. The 1989 Celtics are the only No. 4 win, and the 1995 Houston Rockies are the only No. 6 to do so.

2025 Western Conference Finals: Oklahoma City Vs. Minnesota

Season series: split 2-2

Oklahoma City Thunder

The Thunder entered the season as the youngest team in the league, content to bank on the experience gained in 2024 despite being knocked out of the playoffs in the second round by Dallas. Wide body center Isaiah Hartenstein was the principle rotation addition.

If Game 7 of semifinal series against Denver was the litmus test for league MVP award, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will win. He had 24 points, four assists and three steals in the Thunders’ 125-93 win. Nikola Jokic went 20/9/7.

Gilgeous-Alexander had games of 37, 39 and 40 in the season series.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Surprise. The T-Wolves are here again, behind Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert, Jaden McDaniels and newcomer Julius Randle, who has blown up in the playoffs. Randle is averaged just under 24 points, six rebounds and six assists as the Wolves have won eight of 10.

The point-swapping behind Edwards and Gilgeous-Alexander will be a national story line but the Wolves — as the Thunder — rely on a sticky on-ball defense and the rim protection that big men Gobert and Thunder center (and Minneapolis native) Chet Holmgren provide.

One of the teams will make its first trip to the NBA Finals.

Prediction: Oklahoma City Wins The NBA Western Conference Finals In Seven Games

East Finals: New York Vs. Indiana

Season series: New York, 2-1

New York Knicks

The Knicks’ offensive plan is simple enough. Give the ball to Jalen Brunson and get out of his way. So basic, so difficult to stop. With his penetration skills and mid-range game, Brunson defies opponents to do something about. He is averaging 28.8 points and 22.3 field goal attempts per game in the playoffs.

The Knicks play at a relative slow pace, which mitigates their league-leading starters’ minutes per game. New piece Karl-Anthony Towns replaced Randle without a hitch, and Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart bring that Villanova toughness and skill to both sides of the ball.

Indiana Pacers

The Pacers have some recent history to bank on. They beat the Knicks in seven games in the second round of the 2024 playoffs, and Game 7 was a record-setting laugher. The Pacers shot a single-game play0ff-record 67.1 percent from the floor in a 130-109 win Madison Square Garden.

Rick Carlisle’s Pacers are an anomaly. They play three point guards, sometimes all at once. The push the ball, spread the floor and have a versatile cast that can and will shoot from anywhere. Center Myles Turner is a three-point threat. Guard Tyrese Haliburton, their leader, is averaging 17.5 points and a league-high 9.3 assists in playoff series wins over Milwaukee and Cleveland.

Prediction: Indiana Wins The 2025 NBA Eastern Conference Finals In Six Games