Headline Teams Limited Among NBA’s Final Four—But History Could Be Made

The Knicks have a chance to revive New York’s NBA title dreams with an unanticipated trip to the Eastern Conference finals.

Jalen Brunson (11) of the New York Knicks high-fives Karl-Anthony Towns (32) of the New York Knicks against the Boston Celtics during the fourth quarter in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Second Round NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden in New York City on May 16, 2025. Al Bello/Getty Images

New York is known as the Mecca of basketball, but a lot of prayers have gone unanswered for millions of fans for decades.

However, an unexpected run to the Eastern Conference finals is doing a lot for the city that never sleeps, especially since its sports fans have been tossing and turning night after National Basketball Association night since the New York Knicks went to the finals in 2000.

But it also means a great deal to the NBA itself. The league is salivating at the chance to have one of its marquee franchises in the finals. And given the final four playoff teams, the Knicks would boost the league’s profile in an environment fraught with stiff competition.

The Knicks are set to take on the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals on Wednesday, while the Oklahoma City Thunder face the Minnesota Timberwolves in the West on Tuesday.

The NBA, though, is likely looking for at least one major market in the finals. It lost the Los Angeles Lakers, and the double-barreled superstar glow of LeBron James and Luka Doncic, as well as the high-profile Golden State Warriors, who feature the splashy shooting of Stephen Curry.

The Warriors lost out to up-and-coming Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves in five relatively quiet games. And sure, part of that story includes the hamstring injury that knocked Curry to the sidelines, but Edwards has ascended to a different level and has the T’wolves on the hunt for their first franchise title.

But that result contributed to a more exciting matchup being shoved to the side and the smaller-market teams coming into the limelight.

Christian Braun (0) of the Denver Nuggets defends against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) of the Oklahoma City Thunder during the third quarter in Game Six of the Western Conference Second Round NBA Playoffs at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, on May 15, 2025. Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

The Oklahoma City Thunder wiped out three-time league Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets with a 125–93 Game 7 beatdown on Sunday to move to the conference finals.

The Thunder, a young team making its climb toward the top behind MVP leading candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, don’t really have the major market or the flashy players to draw eyeballs to the finals.

Gilgeous-Alexander, the presumptive MVP, isn’t a high-flying dunker with Michael Jordan flair or Kobe Bryant swagger. He’s a throwback scorer whose array of jump shots, leaners, and floaters infuriate opponents while helping the team pile up the victories (a league-best 68 this season).

He dropped a smooth 35 points in Sunday’s decider against Denver as the West’s top-seeded Thunder moved into the conference finals for the first time since 2016.

The T’wolves also enter the ring with a rising star but a low gravitational pull when it comes to landing ratings. Anthony Edwards starred for Minnesota in the first two rounds, but he does bring the “Space Jam”-type moves. And the rest of the roster consists of a majority of “who’s that?” as opposed to “who’s who?”

That brings the story back to the Knicks, who have the unique ability to generate their own ratings spike. In fact, if the Knicks get through to the finals, it wouldn’t matter who their opponent turns out to be. The spotlight will be directly on them and, win or lose, observers can expect their fan base to be back on their knees.

The Knicks, who seemingly own New York and its surrounding areas, have only won two NBA championships—the first in 1970 and the other in 1973—in their much-hyped history. And since then, including the 1998–1999 season, when the San Antonio Spurs downed them 4–1 in the finals, there has been an excess of failure and disappointment.

Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers greets fans after defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers 114–105 in Game Five of the Eastern Conference Second Round NBA Playoffs at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, on May 13, 2025. Jason Miller/Getty Images

The Knicks smothered the reigning champion Boston Celtics 119–81 in Friday’s Game 6 of their second-round series and will meet the plucky Indiana Pacers. These teams have a rich playoff history, filled with stunning moments, memorable meltdowns, and masterful magic.

Perhaps the most deep-rooted example is the blockbuster series from 1995. Reggie Miller scored eight points in the final seconds of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on May 7 of that year, and the Pacers eventually wrestled away the series in Game 7.

Indiana is in the conference finals because it did what many experts and basketball aficionados didn’t see coming—knock off the East’s top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in five games.

The Pacers are in high gear behind guard Tyrese Haliburton, whom the Sacramento Kings in 2022 dealt to Indiana—with Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson—for Justin Holiday, Jeremy Lamb, Domantas Sabonis, and a 2023 second-round draft pick.

The notion of two small-market strugglers like the Pacers and Thunder battling for hardwood supremacy in front of a national audience is difficult to fathom.

The best matchup for the league and basketball lovers is probably the Thunder and the Knicks. The Pacers and T’wolves might draw the fewest viewers, although that matchup would produce a first-time championship franchise.

We’ll see how the ball bounces.