The Sixers may still be far from reaching their first Finals since 2001, but at least one past Sixer will be crowned a champion this year.
If you were able to set aside the basketball-related stupor the 2024-25 version of the Philadelphia 76ers placed you in, you have been treated to a very entertaining NBA postseason over the past six weeks. With Indiana defeating New York, 125-108, in Saturday’s Game 6, this year’s NBA Finals matchup is now set between the Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder, who dispatched Minnesota in a gentleman’s sweep.
While imagining the Sixers in the Finals feels like a wild pipe dream coming off a 24-win season, Philadelphia-related storylines will still leave an imprint on this title round. Let’s start with one related to a current Sixer: both the Pacers and Thunder have gotten to where they are in part by trading away Paul George.
Indiana traded George to Oklahoma City in 2017 for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis, then later sent Sabonis to Sacramento in 2022 as part of a six-player deal to obtain Tyrese Haliburton. Haliburton made All-NBA Third Team this season and had a 32-15-12 line without a turnover against the Knicks earlier this week. After receiving George, Oklahoma City sent him to Los Angeles in 2019 for a package including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who received the NBA MVP award this season. So if and when the Sixers trade away George (my guess would be the summer of 2027 when he is essentially an expiring contract with only his player option left), they will be somewhere between 6-to-8 years from reaching the Finals. The mid-2030s are our time, people!
More directly, both the Pacers and Thunder have former Sixers on their rosters. Process legend T.J. McConnell is still doing his thing as a 33-year-old vet, playing 16.3 minutes per game as a backup point guard during this postseason. If T.J. gets one of his patented backcourt steals during an NBA Finals game, I may involuntarily shed a tear. Tony Bradley is also battling through a hip flexor injury to play deep reserve minutes. He only logged a total of 38 minutes during the Knicks series, but had some key moments keeping Mitchell Robinson off the glass in Indiana’s Game 4 victory. Maybe Joel Embiid wasn’t wrong, just early.
That’s it!!! I’ve seen enough. Build around Tony Bradley @sixers
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) March 12, 2021
On the opposite sideline, Isaiah Joe represents one of the few on-the-margins moves Daryl Morey has botched, getting waived by the Sixers following the 2022 preseason. Joe has shot over 40 percent from three in each of his three seasons in Oklahoma City, and is playing 10.6 minutes per game off the bench during the Thunder this postseason. While the front office has to wear the L for letting Joe walk away for nothing, it’s another win for the Sixers scouting department after originally finding him with the 49th overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft.
Oklahoma City currently has around 85 percent implied odds to be crowned champion, with the Thunder having better odds to sweep than the Pacers do of winning the series outright. However, Indiana has been surprising people this entire postseason, so we can maintain hope as neutral observers that another entertaining series is still in store. Regardless of what happens, we know for sure that at least one former Sixer will be hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy later this month.