Four players played a pivotal role in the decline of Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday.
After Williams (from Gilgauss Alexander Pass) missed a 3-pointer that gave the Thunder a nine-point lead in 2 minutes and 16 seconds, Nenbird slammed three Gilgauss Alexander on his next possession.
Then, in the game’s decisive sequence, Gilgeous-Alexander missed the pull-up jumper in 11 seconds while Oklahoma City was clinging to a one-point lead. The Pacers scooped the rebound and grabbed the ball to Halliburton, and the Starguard hit a game-winning shot with 0.3 seconds left on the clock.
All four players (Haliburton, Nenbird, Gilgauss Alexander and Williams) have been key cogs in the team’s success over the past few seasons. And all four can be traced back to the summer of 2007 to trading. In the summer of 2007, then General Manager of Seatl Super Sonics, Sam Presty, made a deal that helped set the stage for the 2025 final.
Here’s how Sonics forward Raschard Druis sign-and-trade built the construction of both this year’s NBA Finals participants.
