Thunder vs Pacers: 2025 Oscars of Basketball

• Oklahoma City and Indiana might not be Hollywood box office but they are worthy "Best Picture" Finalists
• Australian "Extras" Alex Ducas and Johnny Furphy will win Australia's 10th NBA title
• The NBA Finals start on Friday, June 6 (AEST)

The 2025 NBA Finals are to the Academy Awards' Best Motion Picture, Best Male Actor and Best Script compared to the billion-dollar box office blockbusters not getting the Golden Statue.

If Academy Awards were handed out for box office appeal Avatar ($2.9B), Avengers: End Game ($2.7B), Star Wars: Force Awakens ($2B), Inside Out 2 ($1.6B), Furious 7 ($1.5B), Frozen 2 ($1.4B), Toy Story 3 & 4 ($2B) and Despicable Me 3 ($1B) would all be Best Most Picture winners. They are not.

It's not always the box office that determines the quality of a picture show or the actors who win the Academy Award for Best Motion Picture or Best Actor.

See:

• 2025: Anora
• 2024: Oppenheimer
• 2023: Everything Everywhere All at Once
• 2022: CODA
• 2021: Nomadland
• 2020: Parasite
• 2019: Green Book
• 2018: The Shape of Water
• 2017: Moonlight
• 2016: Spotlight
• 2015: Birdman

(Be honest, how many of these 10 winners did you see at the theatre?)

And see:

• 2025: Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
• 2024: Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer
• 2023: Brendan Fraser – The Whale
• 2022: Will Smith – King Richard
• 2021: Anthony Hopkins – The Father
• 2020: Joaquin Phoenix – Joker
• 2019: Rami Malek – Bohemian Rhapsody
• 2018: Gary Oldman – Darkest Hour
• 2017: Casey Affleck – Manchester by the Sea
• 2016: Leonardo DiCaprio – The Revenant
• 2015: Eddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything

And that's the 2025 NBA Finals between small market teams Oklahoma City Thunder, Indiana Pacers and their leading own men.

It's no Hollywood blockbuster with big-time bankable stars with box office draw but it will be substance over special effects.

Credit where credit is due, this is an analogy created by ESPN radio's Unsportsmanlike host Evan Cohen but its worth further exploration.

First of all, he's absolutely right.

After a generation of box office appeal with leading men LeBron James, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Jimmy Butler, Dwyane Wade and Dirk Nowitzki and plot lines involving the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers — 2025 is all about the quality of the movie making. There are no special effects.

It's highly likely the 2025 Finals will deliver one of the lowest NBA ratings in league history but that's no reflection on the IMAX quality that is to come as the 68-14 "Young Guns" Oklahoma City Thunder face 50-32 "Cool Runnings" Indiana Pacers.

While the Best Actor Award is already anointed — Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — he's no Tom Cruise or Samuel L. Jackson when it comes to box office appeal, especially for Americans craving a new Face of the League now that James, Curry and Durant are on the backend of their careers.

Gilgeous-Alexander is Canadian, and much like Deadpool Ryan Reynolds, he knows how to play his role(s).

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA) delivered an MVP-winning performance, averaging 32.7 points, 6.4 assists, 5.0 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and 1.0 block per game on 51.9% shooting during the 2024-25 season. He became the third player in franchise history to win the MVP award, joining Durant and Russell Westbrook.

Oklahoma's support cast is also laden with leading men in the making:

• Jalen Williams: Earned his first All-Star selection, All-NBA Third Team, and NBA All-Defensive Second Team honours .
• Chet Holmgren: In his rookie season, he contributed significantly with 2.2 blocks per game and was pivotal in anchoring the league's top defense.
• Isaiah Hartenstein: Led the team with 10.7 rebounds per game, providing a strong presence in the paint .

While Indiana is equally well cast:

• Tyrese Haliburton: Averaged 9.3 assists per game in the playoffs, leading all players. Notably, in Game 4 against the Knicks, he recorded 30 points, 15 assists, and 10 rebounds with no turnovers — the first such stat line in NBA playoff history .
• Pascal Siakam: Re-signed to a four-year, $189.5 million contract before the season. He was named Eastern Conference Finals MVP after averaging 24.8 points per game on 52.4% shooting from the field and 50% from three-point range.
• Andrew Nembhard: Provided crucial defense, including six steals in the decisive Game 6 against the Knicks.

It's imperative not to forget the Aussies in the NBA extras. They may not get a lot of screen time but Australia is a certainty to win its 10th NBA Golden Statue.

• Alex Ducas (Oklahoma City Thunder)
• Johnny Furphy (Indiana Pacers)

And last but not least, Best Director nominees Mark Daigneault and Rick Carlisle. It's Daigneault first nomination but for Carlisle he's chasing his second win as a head coach after leading the storybook Dallas Mavericks and Dirk Nowitzki to their first title in 2011.

Carlisle, 65, was played a small role to Godfather of basketball Larry Bird's Marlon Brando in the 1980s Boston Celtics.

As with the Oscars, the winner is never revealed until the envelope is opened. Only time will tell who the 2025 NBA Academy Award will go to for Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Director but one thing for sure, it might not be Hollywood box office, but it will be of the highest quality motion picture.

By the way, Unsportsmanlike is the best sports talk radio show on the digital airwaves. Cohen, Super Bowl champion Chris Canty and Michelle Smallmon are unmissable. The show airs Tuesday-Saturday nights in Australia and can be found on TuneIn Radio.

About the Author

Peter Brown is the head coach of the Sydney Comets Women’s Youth League team in the Waratah Basketball League in NSW. He is also the assistant coach for the Comets NBL1 women’s team in the NBL1 East Conference. Peter is a 30-year journalist, starting as a sports reporter at the NT News in the early 1990s. He played junior basketball for the Northern Territory at national championships from U16 to U20 and for the Territory’s senior men’s team at numerous international tournaments. Peter has been a basketball fan since the early 80s, especially the NBA. Basketball is his passion — and his opinions his own. Email peter.brown@basketball.com.au with feedback. Any email feedback on articles sent to Peter can be published on basketball.com.au for others to read.