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Pacers' Rick Carlisle Sends OKC Thunder Message Before NBA Finals

The Oklahoma City Thunder made light work of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals. It clinched a berth in the NBA Finals for just the second time in their young history.

The NBA Finals berth is the first since 2012 for the Thunder, when they lost to the LeBron James-led Miami Heat in five games. It's a similar situation for the Indiana Pacers, as they're berth in the Finals is the first time since 2000.

Like the Thunder, the Pacers fell in their last Finals appearance to the Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant Los Angeles Lakers.

Pacers' Rick Carlisle sends OKC Thunder message

While the on-court battle will carry much intrigue and entertainment, the battle between the two coaches will also be fun to monitor. Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault is just 40 years old and has been a head coach since 2020.

On the other side is Rick Carlisle, who got his coaching start in 2001 with the Detroit Pistons before coaching the Indiana Pacers from 2003 to 2007. In 2008, he moved on to the Dallas Mavericks, where he won an NBA Title in 2011.

Ahead of the Game 1 matchup, Carlisle detailed the respect he has for the Thunder on The Pat McAfee Show.

"We have great respect for Oklahoma City Thunder, and we're going to look forward to the challenge," Carlisle said. "... They're a great team and they defend really well... We're gonna have to do a good job with ball security and we're gonna have to play fast."

The Thunder are heavy favorites ahead of the series, and for good reason. They finished with the best record in the league and earned home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. They were also one of the best road teams in the league, and boast the league's Most Valuable Player.

The Thunder are -700, which implies a 87.5% probability that they'll be the ones lifting the Larry O'Brien Trophy.

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