The two greatest words in sports are set to occur on Sunday — Game 7. The Indiana Pacers refused to roll over once again and extended the NBA Finals with a convincing 108-91 victory in Game 6 over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Everything is on the line on Sunday night when the champion is officially crowned.
The Game 7 matchup will take place in Oklahoma City, with the Thunder earning home-court advantage due to their NBA-best 68 wins in the regular season. This marks the first Game 7 of the NBA Finals since 2016, but does home court even matter with the stakes this high?
How have home teams fared in Game 7 of the NBA Finals?
There have been 19 Game 7s in NBA Finals history. The home team has come out on top in 15 of these matchups, or a 78.9% rate. When looking at the playoffs overall, the home team has won Game 7s 74% of the time.
This most recently occurred in 2016 when LeBron James led the Cleveland Cavaliers back from a 3-1 series deficit to ultimately win on the road in Game 7. In addition, the Washington Bullets defeated the Seattle Supersonics on the road in 1978, the Boston Celtics accomplished this in 1969 against the Lakers, and the Syracuse Nationals took down the Fort Wayne Pistons in 1955.
Looking just at these current Finals teams, the home and road splits have not been as noticeable. Across the regular season, the Thunder were 35-6 at home and 32-8 on the road. The Pacers went 29-22 at home and 20-20 when playing away contests this season.
Since the playoffs started, the Thunder are 9-3 when playing at home and 5-5 when playing on the road. Indiana is 8-3 when playing at home and 7-4 when playing on the road in the postseason. Both teams are 2-1 when playing at home in this series.
How much should this factor into the 2025 NBA Finals Game 7?
There is no doubt that history is on the Thunder’s side when looking ahead to Game 7. Still, this Pacers team has been breaking trends and proving plenty wrong all postseason long.
Entering the series, the Thunder opened as -650 favorites to win the series and held -275 odds on the -1.5 series spread. Oklahoma City also held -130 odds on the -2.5 series spread. But the games are played on the court for a reason, and the Pacers are one win away from being crowned NBA champions.
Looking at the Game 7 odds, the Thunder are 7.5-point favorites and -290 on the Moneyline on DraftKings Sportsbook. Indiana holds +235 on the Moneyline with the game total set at 215.5.
If there is one certain bet, it is that this Pacers team will not just quit. They have produced some of the most unlikely victories across the postseason and are just one win away from their first NBA title in franchise history. Oklahoma City is the more talented team, but Indiana has found ways to make them look uncharacteristic on both sides of the ball during the first six games.
Concerns about Tyrese Haliburton’s calf or belief in the Thunder’s talent shining through are much more legitimate reasons to be skeptical of the Pacers finding a way to win. This Pacers team has been at its best with their backs against the wall to this point, but everything will be on the line in the final game of the season.
