It’s Game 5 of the NBA Finals and the stakes couldn’t be much higher. Will the Thunder or Pacers prevail and find themselves a win away from the title?
If you’re a Timberwolves fan, you’re probably doing one of three things right now:
- Hate-watching Shai Gilgeous-Alexander flop like he’s auditioning for a role in The Exorcist 3: The Elbow Awakens.
- Screaming into the void every time Alex Caruso hip-checks someone into the stanchion and somehow ends up with a steal.
- Silently rooting for Chet Holmgren — your home-state hero — while telling yourself you’re not.
In other words: Game 5 of the 2025 NBA Finals is complicated.
The Thunder host the Pacers tonight with the series tied 2-2. And in the immortal words of every youth coach who’s ever given a halftime speech down 14, this is the one that matters. Because whoever wins this game? They get two shots at the title. One at home, one on the road. You win tonight, you smell the champagne. You lose? You’re staring down elimination.
For OKC, the message is clear: Win at home. Get the series lead. Then go close it out in Indy or, worst case, drag the Pacers back to Paycom Arena for a Game 7 where the fans make Thunderdome look like brunch at Panera.
But for Indiana? Oh man. If they steal this one, just like they did in Game 1, then we’ve got a full-blown Hoosiers reboot on our hands. Because Game 6 would be in Indiana, with the Pacers one win away from the unthinkable: hanging a banner nobody — and I mean nobody — saw coming.
Wait, Why Are Timberwolves Fans So Invested?
Because Minnesota was the last team OKC shoved into the wood chipper.
Because Wolves fans watched Ant Edwards run directly into a blue wall of Lou Dort and Caruso for five games straight, then watched the league reward OKC’s defense like they were the 2004 Pistons — while conveniently ignoring the WWE-level physicality it took to get there.
Because Shai — as brilliant as he is — has become the NBA’s version of “That guy at pickup who calls fouls and flops.” (You know the guy.)
And because, frankly, this Indiana team is fun. Haliburton plays like someone gave Steve Nash a TikTok account. Siakam has rediscovered his inner All-Star. And the Pacers? They’re tough, resilient, weirdly composed. Perhaps that Obi Toppin dagger three we took back in March wasn’t an anomaly.
So yeah, Wolves fans are on Team Pacer. And unless you’re Chet Holmgren’s AAU coach or an actual relative, you probably are too.
Prediction Time
OKC is favored. They’re back home. The crowd will be rabid. And Shai is due for a “wait, is he the best player alive?” game.
But Indiana… man, there’s something about them. They don’t blink. They play loose. And Tyrese Haliburton might be the first guy since Steph to weaponize joy in the Finals.
My pick? Thunder win. Shai goes nuclear. But it’s close. Closer than it should be. And the Pacers leave the floor thinking, “We can win Game 6. We’ve done this before.”
Which means?
Get your popcorn ready. This thing is going 7.
Let’s watch it unfold together. Because no matter who you’re rooting for — this Finals just got real.