With the first game of the NBA finals approaching Thursday, it’s time for us to take a year to see what the championship series means for many participants’ legacy. The 78th edition of the final will feature the young Oklahoma City Thunder, Underdog Indiana pacemaker and many stories.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

When asked about the NBA faces at the All-Star Game, did he have any wishes this Face the game - Gilgeous-Alexander said: "We don't have something that we as players have completely controlled. Literally, anyone who decides the world will naturally become it."

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Well, this is Gilgeous-Alexander, on the most grand stage of the game, the whole world is watching.

We are in the longest winning streak, with the NBA's regular season MVP not winning the championship. Gilgeous-Alexander has the opportunity to be the first player to win the MVP and the same season since Stephen Curry in 2015. And, he has the opportunity to be the first player since LeBron James to win regular season MVP and finals MVP honors in the same season.

You may have heard of Curry and James. They are well-known people in the sport. This happens when you combine individual success with team success; together it brings you into another stratosphere - one that is reserved for all members only, and SGA dares to join their peak feelings.

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Ten players in NBA history have won regular season and final MVP honors in the same season, with only two being defenders: Magic Johnson (1987) and Michael Jordan (1991-92, 1996, 1998). Likewise, Jordan is the only defender to win a scoring title and a title in the same season. He did it six times. Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 32.7 points in the league lead per game and he could join Jordan.

This is not: Jordan’s six championship seasons, and Jill Alexander’s season.

In their own conversation.

(NBA Finals Preview: Pacers - Tongsuo Key Showdown, Schedule, X Factor and Prediction)

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Here we remind you that Jordan was 28 years old when he first won the championship. Gilgeous-Alexander was 27 until July 12. If you slice it, if Gilgeous-Alexander wins the championship this season, his season will be among the best defenders in NBA history, and he will be older than anyone else, including Jordan. This will force us to consider many questions, including his place among the great man and whether he can replicate the feat.

With the ring, Gilgeous-Alexander will have something guards Steve Nash, John Stockton and Chris Paul don't have. In this case, he might only chase multiple champions Johnson, Curry, Isaiah Thomas and Bob Cusi. They are the focus of God and SGA will soon be in it.

Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers

There was some loss in the impossible things in Indiana's NBA Finals, which Halliburton did when he was so young. The best player among the Pacers at the age of 25. He has achieved very few players doing things, leading his team to the championship series only in his fifth season.

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However, Halliburton will join more minority with the victory over Oklahoma City. All-star list of all-stars who were the champion team’s best player by his 26th birthday include Bill Russell, Bob Pettit, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton, Bill Walton, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Dwyane Wade.

In other words: Wade is the only one who has done this century.

All except Pettit won multiple titles. They are also all members of the NBA's 75th anniversary. Beating the Thunder is almost guaranteed that Halliburton will be included in the 100 greatest players of all time when the NBA's next anniversary team is announced.

Pascal Smart, Indiana Pacer

Siakam, along with Kawhi Leonard, went from helping the Toronto Raptors win the 2019 NBA championship. The victory with the Pacers will make him the second best player on both championship teams, which is already a short roster. Think of the recent memory of the Hall of Fame Pau Gasol.

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This century, only six years of All-Star Games won the championship with two different teams: Shaquille O'Neal, Ray Allen, Lebron James, Kawhi Leonard, Rajon Rondo and Jrue Holiday. Only O'Neal, James and Leonard (multi-finals MVP) became All-Star teams, members of two teams that won the championship.

Siakam may be fourth.

Last year in the same space, we wondered if the second ring meant a Hall of Fame recognition for the holiday, twice in the All-Stars and six All-Stars. We have to say the same thing about Siakam, and what he means to both teams he helps (if not more, even more) helped the NBA Finals.

Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, Oklahoma City Thunder

Williams and Holmgren are All-Stars and Zero-Time All-Stars (who could be the All-Star team this year if he wasn't injured) are just starting to stand out. We don't know what shape they will take. They are here now, just like the beginning of something.

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Williams is 24 years old. Holmgren is 23 years old. When their rookie deal ends in 2026, they may have all been secured enough to ensure the maximum contract. They are good, and the title can only be further confirmed.

But not only that, they can also be founding members of the Rising Dynasty. With proof of concept in these NBA finals, it is hard to imagine that a person so young will not be able to reach these heights again. If we think the Golden State Warriors are a roadmap for a young core that breaks through before anyone expects it, consider what their successful run means for the likes of Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.

Yes, Thompson and Green are future Hall of Fame, but beyond that, they are a big part of telling their franchise story-telling the NBA. You can't tell the story of Stephen Curry without it being credited to Thompson and Green; Williams and Holmgren are related to Jill Alexander, and their story becomes even more compelling if they win again.

Rick Carlisle, Indiana Pacers

Carlisle had the opportunity to become the fourth head coach in NBA history, winning the championship with two different organizations, joining Alex Hannum, Phil Jackson and Pat Riley. This alone is an achievement.

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Carlisle won the first title of the Dallas Mavericks in 2011, one of the biggest finals in history as they beat LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Miami’s beloved Miami Heat. is the Pacer who won the victory this season and it may mark The biggest final in history. It would be to some extent that there are no coaches to match on two resumes (for two completely different teams).

Carlisle ranked 11th in professional regular season wins and 10th in professional playoff wins. If he is going to win these finals, we may have to have a more serious conversation about his position on the coaching list in history. Only legends - Jackson, Riley, Red Auerbach and Greg Popovich - can be clear about him.

Since 2000, only Jackson, Popovich, Steve Kerr and Erik Spoelstra have won multiple rings. Carlisle can brag about something that even Jackson can't match - like two different teams, the champion, as the underdog, joins his best players in different ways.

Sam Publishing House, Oklahoma City Thunder

Even in the 2007-08 Seattle Super Human Body, he (at the time) became the league’s youngest general manager when he was modernizing his championship method to the assistant general manager of the San Antonio Spurs, Presti was considered one of the, if not, if not this The smartest person in basketball. He held a seminar on the topic at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics conference, Basketball Nerd Paradise.

His analytical driven approach has proven to be a successful approach in practice as he developed the core of the championship twice in the Oklahoma small market. In the deepest draft picks in the league, that's all of them. There is no team ready for success.

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But he didn't win the championship. Only in this way can we confirm that he is probably the smartest person in basketball.

Myles Turner, Indiana Pacers

Turner is not just a role player, but less than a star, and players like this don’t stick to a team often. However, this is Turner, a trade rumor that has been around for a long time, or still years, is still struggling for the Pacers.

Turner's 10th year of service in Indiana, must have points along the way - just like in 2021 Justin Holiday started more games against the Pacers - he thinks he will never win at Husserl State. The title means more to him than most people, and he means more to Indiana.

Alex Caruso, Oklahoma City Thunder

If the Thunder will win this year's championship, they will also become one of the important roles in the 21st century in the 2020 NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers' 3 and D United. Think of Danny Green, who went on to win the third title with a third different team. Caruso, 31, has signed an outstanding contract for the best basketball team. More rings are not impossible for him.

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James Johnson, Indiana Pacers

Johnson has never averaged more than 12.8 points in one season, averaged more than three points since 2022 and has played 786 professional games in 16 seasons. He has always been a perfect teammate, partly because he is widely regarded as the toughest pound player in the NBA. The man is reportedly a martial artist. It would be very sweet to add a title to this.

(Seriously: His nickname is BloodSport. That's cool in itself. Add a ring to his fist, and then what.)

Paul George, Philadelphia 76ers

This year's NBA finalists have built their team from trading Paul George. The Pacers traded George to the Thunder in 2017 in exchange for Domantas Sabonis and Victor Oladipo, while Victor Oladipo switched Indiana's Tyrese Haliburton and Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam to Tyrese Haliburton. Similarly, the Thunder turned George to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and some draft picks, one of which became Jalen Williams. So, either way, George is responsible for this year's NBA championship. Or no.

Adam Silver, NBA Specialist

The NBA will crown its seventh different title in many seasons. Now, equality is here, and that's what Silver wants. The purpose of a collective bargaining agreement is to immediately dismantle the dynasty when it is formed. As we monitor TV ratings for Oklahoma City and Indiana this year’s small market battle, we’ll see if that’s what others want. This is not going to affect the NBA's bottom line: the league's new 11 years, the $76 billion media rights program will not even begin until next season.

But Parity is now an NBA brand and we will see how viewers like it.