The Two Greatest Words in Sports

Game Seven. 

It quite literally doesn’t get any better than those two words in the sports world. 

Why? Let’s break it down:

Winner takes all. For these professionals, we see all the time in the regular season and even some playoff games where they take a possession off. They don’t jump on a loose ball rolling on the court scared of getting an injury. They sit at the end of a game to rest for the next one. In game seven, those ideologies don’t exist. Everything is on the line. There is no tomorrow. Nothing else matters but the game, and when that becomes the case, us as viewers will see the absolute peak of NBA basketball.

If you aren’t an NBA fan, or a fan of the Thunder or Pacers, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter the sport—basketball, baseball, hockey—all that matters is those two words: Game Seven. Even if only for a few minutes, I recommend throwing on the game at some point on Sunday night to watch the sport in its truest form—its most competitive form. With how the “ring culture” has exponentially grown in the NBA, this really is all or nothing. The winners will be a part of NBA history. The losers … no one will remember. This new culture descends from Kobe Bryant, in my opinion. “Job’s not finished” were his famous words. And this new group of players, especially the young ones like these two teams have, grew up idolizing Kobe, picking up his mentality of winning championships is all that matters. We will see that on Sunday night.

The two stars who will need to make a difference in Game 7.

My Prediction

In my genuine opinion, this game is a sheer toss up. 

On paper, the Oklahoma City Thunder have it in the bag. They have home-court advantage where during the regular season they were 35-6. Not to mention, following a loss this year in the playoffs the Thunder hold an impressive 6-0 record. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging a thirty piece in the playoffs, getting to his spots in the mid-range game and making it a habit getting to the free throw line where he shoots over eighty-seven percent from the line. 

Here’s the problem with all that: it’s GAME SEVEN. Throw all the stats out the window. None of them matter. Everything up till this moment is erased. It’s one game that matters. It's determination that matters. Forty-eight minutes is all the remains for either of these teams, and in those four quarters, anything can happen.

With the chance of being incredibly wrong (which is extremely possible), my pick for the 2025 NBA champs is the Indiana Pacers. 

Why?

They have shown again and again they are able to gut out wins on the road, no matter what venue they’re in. Milwaukee, Cleveland, New York. Oklahoma City, it doesn’t matter. That's not a statistic, that's a fact. They have more of an all-around team, where if Tyrese Haliburton doesn’t have a great scoring game, he can alter the game in other ways to still come out on top. With guys like T.J. McConnell being a menace on the defensive end in this series, they have so many contributors that can show out and be game-changers.

No matter the outcome, there has only been nineteen game sevens in the NBA Finals. You read that right … nineteen, Sunday night makes twenty. They don’t come around often, so sit back, relax, and appreciate the game.

Thanks for reading my first sports blog. I hope you enjoy the game.