The two quotes that define the Pacers-Thunder 2025 NBA Finals - ESPN

THE CORE THEME of this NBA Finals matchup might've been summed up in two powerful yet simple quotes this week.

The first came from Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner, whose love of Lego is famous within the NBA, to the point where opponents occasionally will use it as an insult. But Turner sees their construction, brick by brick, as art and himself as kind of an artist.

There are books and dissertations about the philosophy of Lego, just as there are many about basketball. Turner is a disciple of both and a thinker — had he not left the University of Texas after his freshman year for the 2015 NBA draft, he had planned to pursue psychology.

So he wasn't being flippant when he delivered what might be the most defining and all-encompassing line about this NBA season — and perhaps the forthcoming NBA Finals between his Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder that begin with Game 1 on Thursday (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC).

It was both profound and simple, deep and whimsical. Just like his Legos. He explained why both these teams, one a long shot, the other a dominant force all season, are still standing. It comes down to their ability to «use the power of friendship,» he said, to find chemistry on the court and off.

Then there's one from MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, fueled perhaps by a Michael Jordan-inspired connection. SGA, too, got «cut» from his junior varsity team as a ninth grader in his hometown of Hamilton, Ontario. More accurately, he «only» made the freshman team… and ended up leading them to the city title.

It's safe to say Gilgeous-Alexander had quite a come-up in high school, but it was deeper than simply eventually earning a spot at the University of Kentucky. This week, he described a lesson he learned in high school, one