The NBA Finals of 2025 kick off this Thursday with the Oklahoma City Thunder facing the Indiana Pacers in Game 1. This marks the Thunder’s first finals appearance since 2012, featuring illustrious players such as Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. In contrast, the Pacers have not been in this spotlight since 2000.

Both teams have made bold trades to bolster their rosters. For instance, the Thunder traded Paul George to the Clippers and secured superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as part of the deal. Meanwhile, the Pacers made waves by trading Domantas Sabonis for Tyrese Haliburton.

A total of six former five-star prospects from the 247Sports rankings will showcase their talent in this year’s finals. The Thunder have three former five-star recruits on their lineup: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Cason Wallace, and Chet Holmgren. On the other hand, the Pacers roster includes four: Myles Turner, Andrew Nembhard, Jarace Walker, and Thomas Bryant.

Additionally, there are standout players who were once unranked in high school. Thunder’s Jalen Williams and Pacers’ Pascal Siakam both defied expectations to reach stardom in the NBA.

Oklahoma City Thunder

• Five-star recruits: 3
• Four-star recruits: 3
• Three-star recruits: 2
• Unranked/International: 7

Player	College	247Sports Star Rating	Overall Rank
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	Kentucky	Four-star	No. 20
Chet Holmgren	Gonzaga	Five-star	No. 1
Jalen Williams	Santa Clara	Not Rated	N/A
Luguentz Dort	Arizona State	Four-star	No. 33
Alex Caruso	Texas A&M	Four-star	No. 86
Isaiah Joe	Arkansas	Three-star	No. 206
Cason Wallace	Kentucky	Five-star	No. 5
Jaylin Williams	Arkansas	Three-star	No. 102
Aaron Wiggins	Maryland	Four-star	No. 47
Kenrich Williams	TCU	Not Rated	N/A
Isaiah Hartenstein	N/A (International)	N/A	N/A
Ousmane Dieng	N/A (International)	N/A	N/A
Nikola Topić	N/A (International)	N/A	N/A
Ajay Mitchell	UCSB	Not Rated	N/A
Dillon Jones	Weber State	Not Rated	N/A

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Indiana Pacers

• Five-star recruits: 4
• Four-star recruits: 4
• Three-star recruits: 1
• Unranked/International: 5

Player	College	247Sports Star Rating	Overall Rank
Tyrese Haliburton	Iowa State	Three-star	No. 177
Pascal Siakam	New Mexico State	Not Rated	N/A
Myles Turner	Texas	Five-star	No. 7
Bennedict Mathurin	Arizona	Four-star	No. 53
Obi Toppin	Dayton	Not Rated	N/A
Andrew Nembhard	Gonzaga	Five-star	No. 20
Aaron Nesmith	Vanderbilt	Four-star	No. 46
T.J. McConnell	Arizona	Not Rated	N/A
Isaiah Jackson	Kentucky	Four-star	No. 34
Jarace Walker	Houston	Five-star	No. 12
Ben Sheppard	Belmont	Not Rated	N/A
Johnny Furphy	Kansas	Four-star	No. 35
James Johnson	Wake Forest	Not Rated	N/A
Thomas Bryant	Indiana	Five-star	No. 13