Stop Star-Chasing: What the Sixers Can Learn from the Pacers (and Thunder) in the NBA Finals

Another year, another NBA Finals that the Sixers are watching from home. But, on the bright side, there is a lot to learn from the two teams in this series.

While Tyrese Haliburton hit yet another game-winner in Game 1 with a dagger to the chest of the Oklahoma City Thunder, I couldn’t help but think: Why do the Pacers look like they actually know how to build a basketball team… and we don’t?

Seriously. Indiana turned the ball over 20 TIMES in the first half. They looked like they were running a scrimmage at Lifetime Fitness. OKC’s defense — which, by the way, might be the most suffocating unit I’ve seen in my lifetime — had them in a straight jacket for 24 minutes. And yet, when the dust settled, Indiana walked out of Paycom Center with a win.

This is what the modern NBA is all about. And the Sixers need to take notes

6 in double-digits in Game 1 👏 pic.twitter.com/OlZL3bmM8t

— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) June 6, 2025

It wasn’t a 40-piece from some Max Contract Hero Ball Merchant. It was depth. Youth. Toughness. Cohesion. Six different Pacers scored in double figures. Obi Toppin came off the bench and splashed five threes like it was nothing. Every time OKC punched, Indiana stayed in the fight. They didn’t flinch. They didn’t fold.

Meanwhile here in Philly, Daryl Morey is probably trying to work a deal to get either Kevin Durant or Jimmy Butler. Seriously, it’s exhausting and it’s time to change with the evolution of the league.

Look around. The two teams in the Finals didn’t build through free agency. They didn’t sell the farm for aging names. They played the long game. They drafted. They developed. They stuck to a plan. The Pacers and Thunder both have 22-year-olds making huge plays in massive moments. When’s the last time we could say that?

And don’t get it twisted — OKC might’ve blown Game 1, but they’re just as good of a model as Indiana. Their core is deep as hell. Chet Holmgren looks like he’s been built in a lab for playoff basketball. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is what we all hope Tyrese Maxey can become. And they haven’t had to blow up their roster or mortgage the future to do it. They just kept stacking.

That’s the blueprint.

The Sixers need to get younger. They need to get deeper. They need to stop being obsessed with “names” and start building out a legitimate roster and most importantly creating a new culture in regards to Philadelphia basketball.

And it all starts with the No. 3 overall pick in the draft. Whether the Sixers use it to select a player they actually develop, or treat it like an asset to trade, it must be used to add youth, depth, and flexibility to this team. So if they do trade it, they better not be depleting more assets just to get less in return.

That’s been the sorry formula for every GM we’ve had—whether it’s Daryl Morey, Elton Brand, or even Bryan Colangelo. Every trade somehow ends up costing us more than what we get back. Unless, of course, you’re Brett Brown and you trade Mikal Bridges on draft night for Zhaire Smith and a future first-round pick—which is a whole different disaster for another time.

All Eyes on Daryl Morey: Time to Get It Right

So, the attention now turns to you, Daryl Morey. I hope you’ve been watching closely and taking notes. It’s time to steer this Sixers ship back in the right direction. For the sake of the best fans in the world, you need to get this right—for all of us.

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