2025 NBA Playoffs:
ACC/NC Players In NBA Finals
(Matchups, Schedules, Statistics, More)
By David Glenn
North Carolina Sports Network
(last updated June 23, 2025)
The 2025 National Basketball Association playoffs continued in mid-June, with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers — each in search of its franchise’s first NBA title — competing in the league’s best-of-seven championship series.
The Thunder ultimately prevailed, capped by a 103-91 Game Seven victory in Oklahoma City on June 22.
The Thunder have existed only since 2008, when the Seattle SuperSonics relocated to Oklahoma City. The Pacers won three championships during their 10 seasons in the American Basketball Association, but they have not captured a title since the ABA merged with the NBA in 1976, nearly 50 years ago.
Oklahoma City, a #1 seed, eliminated the Minnesota Timberwolves 4-1 in the Western Conference finals. Indiana, a #4 seed, defeated the New York Knicks 4-2 in the Eastern Conference finals.
While fourth-year Indiana head coach Rick Carlisle (a Virginia standout in the 1980s) gave the championship series some Atlantic Coast Conference flavor, only two former ACC players were on the two remaining NBA playoff rosters, representing just two (UNC and Wake Forest) of the league’s 18 schools. Neither played meaningful minutes in the postseason on a regular basis.
As has typically been the case in recent years, Duke had the greatest representation among ACC programs at the start of this year’s NBA postseason, with seven participants: Marvin Bagley III (Memphis), Paolo Banchero (Orlando), Wendell Carter Jr. (Orlando), Luke Kennard (Memphis), Cam Reddish (Los Angeles Lakers), Jayson Tatum (Boston) and Gary Trent Jr. (Milwaukee).
However, each of those playoff teams was eliminated early, leaving the ACC with a much-smaller-than-usual impact on the postseason’s latter stages.
Below is the revised and extremely short “ACC/NC In 2025 NBA Finals” list, which includes brief summaries of the players’ 2025 postseason statistics.
This year’s NBA finals schedule also is outlined below.
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California (0)
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Clemson (0)
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Duke (0)
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Florida State (0)
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Georgia Tech (0)
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Louisville (0)
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Miami (0)
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North Carolina (1)
Tony Bradley, C, Pacers (minimal PT during 2025 postseason)
NC State (0)
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Notre Dame (0)
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Pittsburgh (0)
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SMU (0)
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Stanford (0)
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Syracuse (0)
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Virginia (0)
(Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle)
Virginia Tech (0)
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Wake Forest (1)
James Johnson, BF, Pacers (minimal PT during 2025 postseason)
#3 New York Knicks vs. #4 Indiana Pacers
Game 1: Pacers 138, Knicks 135, OT
Game 2: Pacers 114, Knicks 109
Game 3: Knicks 106, Pacers 100
Game 4: Pacers 130, Knicks 121
Game 5: Knicks 111, Pacers 94
Game 6: Pacers 125, Knicks 108
(Pacers win series 4-2)
Western Conference Finals
#1 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. #6 Minnesota Timberwolves
Game 1: Thunder 114, Timberwolves 88
Game 2: Thunder 118, Timberwolves 103
Game 3: Timberwolves 143, Thunder 101
Game 4: Thunder 128, Timberwolves 126
Game 5: Thunder 124, Timberwolves 94
(OKC wins series 4-1)
NBA Championship Series
#1 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. #4 Indiana Pacers
Game 1: Pacers 111, Thunder 110
Game 2: Thunder 123, Pacers 107
Game 3: Pacers 116, Thunder 107
Game 4: Thunder 111, Pacers 104
Game 5: Thunder 120, Pacers 109
Game 6: Pacers 108, Thunder 91
Game 7: Thunder 103, Pacers 91
(OKC wins series 4-3)