It’s an early Finals rematch as the defending champion OKC Thunder travel to Indianapolis to meet the Pacers in one of the marquee matchups featured in the 2025-26 NBA opening week.
The Pacers will open their season against a familiar foe at home on Friday, October 24, at 7:30 a.m. (PH time).
Before traveling to Indiana, OKC will first raise the championship banner at home and then take on Kevin Durant and the revamped Houston Rockets.
[ALSO READ: SGA, Thunder begin title defense vs Durant, Rockets; Curry-James duel opens 2025-26 season]
It’ll be the first meeting between the two teams since the Thunder claimed the franchise’s first title with a Game 7 triumph over the Pacers.
The superstar trio of MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren are still expected to lead the Thunder squad, which retained most of its championship core from last season, including Alex Caruso, Lu Dort, and Isaiah Hartenstein, to name a few.
SGA, Williams, and Holmgren also signed massive contract extensions this offseason that secured their futures with the franchise, as OKC aims to become the first repeat champions since the Golden State Warriors in 2018.
[ALSO READ: Champion, Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander receives warm welcome in Hamilton homecoming]
Meanwhile, superstar Tyrese Haliburton is expected to miss the entire 2025-26 season while rehabilitating a torn right Achilles injury sustained in the heartbreaking Game 7 loss last June.
[ALSO READ: Pacers rule out star guard Tyrese Haliburton for 2025-26 NBA season after Achilles surgery]
Without Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard will move down a position to replace him as the Pacers' starting point guard.
Reigning East Finals MVP Pascal Siakam will now be the focal point of the Indiana offense with Haliburton sidelined, coming off a season in which he averaged 20.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 3.4 assists while shooting 51.9% from the field and 38.9% from deep.
The offseason also saw the Pacers lose veteran big man Myles Turner, who left Indiana to join the Milwaukee Bucks.
[ALSO READ: Myles Turner pens emotional farewell to Pacers after shock Bucks move]
