The NBA conference finals begin on Tuesday. According to the results, a several-year-long title streak will end. (Left to Right): Anthony Edwards of Minnesota Timberwolves, Tyrese Haliburton of Indiana Pacers, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of Oklahoma City Thunder, Jalen Brunson of New York Knicks Ellen Schmidt/Getty Images; Lauren Leigh Bacho/nbae by Getty Images; Garrett Ellwood/nbae by Getty Images; Brian Fluharty/Getty Images Closed subtitles
The NBA's era of equality is officially here.
When the playoff finals begin Tuesday night, four different championship droughts are about to take place - meaning one of the cars will end at the end of next month's NBA Finals.
The three teams that remained in the playoffs – the Indiana Pacers, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves – never won the championship in their current hometown. The fourth team - the New York Knicks - has not won the championship in more than half a century.
The New York Knicks have not won the championship since 1973 More than 25 years since they entered the finals. Oklahoma City hasn't tasted the championship series since 2012 - If you count the achievements of Seattle superstars before moving to Oklahoma in 2008, the Thunder are the last team to win all titles recently and won the championship in 1979.
The Pacers were a powerful country in the American Basketball Association in the early 1970s, but have not won a championship since joining the NBA. Founded in 1989, Timberwolves never reached the final.
“It’s one of the widest open years we’ve ever seen,” Indiana head coach Rick Carlisle said after the Pacers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in the series. “We have to see this as – just very opportunistic.”
The NBA has been struggling for a long time. Since the 1980s, one dynasty has often given way to another—from the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers to the Chicago Bulls, to the Lakers to the Lakers to the Miami Heat to the Miami Heat to the Golden State Warriors. In total, 23 of the NBA's 78 championships are back-to-back champions. One year after losing in the finals, another 14 teams won the championship.
But those numbers have been steady since the Toronto Raptors lost the Golden State Warriors in 2019.
Pascal Siakam is a 31-year-old Pacers who enjoyed glory that year. That was his third season in the NBA and Siakam thought he would make it to the finals again He recalled the Raptors earlier this month. But the Raptors couldn't repeat it, and he was traded to the Pacers last year.
“Sometimes I sound like I want to kill the party and everyone wants to be excited and I’m like, ‘Man, I want more,” Siakam said. “We have a real opportunity and we can’t take it for granted.”
Many of the remaining players are also fresh faces. It was a final, without Stephen Curry, without LeBron James, without Kevin Durant, without Anthony Davis or Russell Westbrook or James Harden.
Instead, the four teams are led by younger generations of superstars: Jalen Brunson (New York), 28, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma), 26, Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana), and Anthony Edwards (Minnesota).
Jill Alexander was still in high school when the Thunder made the finals last time. He then said the pressure began to feel enormous before Game 7 against Denver last Sunday.
"Honestly, I turned off the phone. I wanted to do my best to stop all the noise," Gilgeous-Alexander said after the Thunder won Denver. "The nerves sat in my stomach for two days (rest)."
The Thunder and Timberwolves competed in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. The Pacers and the Knicks kicked off the Eastern Conference Finals Wednesday. The winner of each Best Series will advance to the NBA final, which will begin on June 5.