It will be an NBA Finals rematch, as Indiana hosts the Oklahoma City Thunder Thursday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Pacers open their 2025-2026 season Thursday inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
It will be an NBA Finals rematch, as Indiana hosts the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“It’s time to play,” said head coach Rick Carlisle. “It’s a team coming in that was great last year. They were great throughout the year. It was a great series. It was a tough series.”
The Pacers lost to the Thunder in Game 7 of the NBA Finals earlier this year. Players say the momentum will carry over into this season, but it’s also a chance to start fresh.
“I’m ready for a new season,” said Pacers guard-forward Andrew Nembhard. “I’m ready to get back to hooping. Excited that training camp is done, and we can get back to playing basketball.”
“Super excited, man, super pumped,” said Pacers guard-forward Bennedict Mathurin. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep tonight. I’m so excited for the game.”
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Before Thursday’s season opener, Indiana will hoist its Eastern Conference championship banner inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
“We are going to take that moment to celebrate everything we did last year,” said Pacers forward Obi Toppin. “We did a lot and accomplished a lot last year, and we’re super proud of that. So, we are going to take a couple minutes to admire that, and then get to business after that.”
Ahead of the regular season, Indiana is dealing with some injuries. T.J. McConnell and Quenton Jackson, for example, did not practice Wednesday.
Pacers fans know the team is also without Tyrese Haliburton for the rest of the year.
“We have options,” said Carlisle. “They are just not the most conventional at this moment, but that’s alright.”
“We are just learning how to play with each other,” said Toppin. “We are never perfect, but we are getting better every single day.”
Tipoff between the Pacers and Thunder is set for 7:30 p.m.