Pacers, Thunder got to the NBA Finals fueled by doubters. A title will give 1 team the last laugh

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — In these NBA Finals, a team is four wins away from getting the last laugh.

Ask anyone on the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers if they're still fueled by doubters, and the answer is probably going to be an immediate “yes.” Thunder star and NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander went 11th in his draft. Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton went 12th in his. Both sides have undrafted players in their rotation.

Here they are: The NBA Finals, which start Thursday night in Oklahoma City. The Thunder have, by far, the NBA's best record this season. The Pacers have the league's second-best record since Jan. 1, including playoffs. And both teams have rolled through the postseason, going 12-4 in the first three rounds.

“I’ll continue to tell you guys in certain moments that it doesn’t matter what people say, but it matters — and I enjoy it," Haliburton said. "I think the greats try to find external motivation as much as they can and that’s something that’s always worked for me.”

It's not like more motivation is needed. Not for the next couple of weeks, anyway. Indiana is chasing its first NBA title. Oklahoma City — technically — is also seeking its first; the franchise won a championship when it played in Seattle in 1979. These are teams that combined to win 49 games just three seasons ago, and now they're the last two standing.

“Staying true to who we are is the reason why we’re here," Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We’d be doing ourselves a disservice if we changed or tried to be something we're not once we got here. We’ve had success doing so. If we want to keep having success, we have to be who we are. It’s organic. It’s nothing we have to think about or force. It’s just who we are, no matter the moment.”

The Thunder are enormous favorites in the series, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, and understandably so. They're 80-18 including the regular season and postseason, plus went 29-1 in the regular season against the Eastern Conference and have more double-digit wins — 61 and counting — than any team in any season in NBA history.

“We’ve got a lot of work cut out for us,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “A lot of our guys have been through a lot of situations where they’ve been underdogs in the past. It’s simply going to come down to us being able to play our game at the best possible level. We’re going to need to take care of the ball because these guys turn people over at an historic rate, and we’re going to have to make some shots.”

The Thunder want no part of hearing this series will be easy. The way Indiana — a No. 4 seed in the East — got through Giannis Antetokounmpo and Milwaukee in Round 1, a top-seeded Cleveland team in Round 2 and New York in Round 3 and never faced an elimination game has captured Oklahoma City's full attention.

“Their attack is very simple. The theoretical way to stop it is simple,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “In reality it’s very difficult to do, as you can see from the way that they’ve really had their way with everybody. ... They pump a 99 mph fastball at you. You can prepare all you want for that. When you’re in the batter’s box, it’s different when it’s time to hit it.”

The Thunder are the youngest team to make the NBA Finals in 48 years, according to data provided by the league. With an average age of about 25 years and seven months, they're the youngest finalist since Portland in 1977.

That said, hearing about it is getting, well, old.

“Young or not, when you can learn from whatever situation you’re thrown in, that makes you better,” Thunder guard Jalen Williams said. “I think that’s why we’re here in this moment.”

There will be a Game 1 in Oklahoma City on Thursday night — and a Game 2 on Thursday night as well.

At Paycom Center, there's Game 1 of the NBA Finals. And Devon Park, about a 15-minute drive away from the Thunder home floor, will play host to Game 2 of the Women's College World Series between Texas and Texas Tech that same night.

If the softball facility — which will be the site of games at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics — is filled, that means about 32,000 people will be watching championship games in Oklahoma City on Thursday.

There are four players on these teams with previous NBA Finals experience.

Indiana’s Pascal Siakam averaged 19.8 points in six games with Toronto, helping the Raptors win the title in 2019. Oklahoma City’s Alex Caruso averaged 6.3 points in six games with the Los Angeles Lakers, helping them past Miami in the bubble finals of 2020.

Indiana’s Thomas Bryant got in one game of Denver’s 2023 finals win over Miami, and the Pacers’ Aaron Nesmith played for Boston in the Celtics’ loss to Golden State in the 2022 finals.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba

Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault reacts during the second half of Game 5 of the Western Conference finals of the NBA basketball playoffs against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle watches during the first half of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals of the NBA basketball playoffs against the New York Knicks Sunday, May 25, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, center, reacts after winning Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals of the NBA basketball playoffs against the New York Knicks in Indianapolis, Saturday, May 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) dunks during the second half of Game 5 of the Western Conference finals of the NBA basketball playoffs against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is meeting with oil executives at the White House on Friday in hopes of securing $100 billion in investments to revive Venezuela’s ability to fully tap into its expansive reserves of petroleum — a plan that rides on their comfort in making commitments in a country plagued by instability, inflation and uncertainty.

Since the U.S. military raid to capture former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on Saturday, Trump has quickly pivoted to portraying the move as a newfound economic opportunity for the U.S., seizing tankers carrying Venezuelan oil, saying the U.S. is taking over the sales of 30 million to 50 million barrels of previously sanctioned Venezuelan oil and will be controlling sales worldwide indefinitely.

On Friday, U.S. forces seized their fifth tanker over the past month that has been linked to Venezuelan oil. The action reflected the determination of the U.S. to fully control the exporting, refining and production of Venezuelan petroleum, a sign of the Trump administration's plans for ongoing involvement in the sector as it seeks commitments from private companies.

It's all part of a broader push by Trump to keep gasoline prices low. At a time when many Americans are concerned about affordability, the incursion in Venezuela melds Trump’s assertive use of presidential powers with an optical spectacle meant to convince Americans that he can bring down energy prices.

The meeting, set for 2:30 p.m. EST, will be open to the news media, according to an update to the president's daily schedule. “At least 100 Billion Dollars will be invested by BIG OIL, all of whom I will be meeting with today at The White House,” Trump said Friday in a pre-dawn social media post.

Trump is set to meet with executives from 17 oil companies, according to the White House. Among the companies attending are Chevron, which still operates in Venezuela, and ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips, which both had oil projects in the country that were lost as part of a 2007 nationalization of private businesses under Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chávez.

The president is meeting with a wide swath of domestic and international companies with interests ranging from construction to the commodity markets. Other companies slated to be at the meeting include Halliburton, Valero, Marathon, Shell, Singapore-based Trafigura, Italy-based Eni and Spain-based Repsol.

Large U.S. oil companies have so far largely refrained from affirming investments in Venezuela as contracts and guarantees need to be in place. Trump has suggested on social media that America would help to backstop any investments.

Venezuela’s oil production has slumped below one million barrels a day. Part of Trump's challenge to turn that around will be to convince oil companies that his administration has a stable relationship with Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez, as well as protections for companies entering the market.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum are slated to attend the oil executives meeting, according to the White House.

Meanwhile, the United States and Venezuelan governments said Friday they were exploring the possibility of r estoring diplomatic relations between the two countries, and that a delegation from the Trump administration arrived to the South American nation on Friday.

The small team of U.S. diplomats and diplomatic security officials traveled to Venezuela to make a preliminary assessment about the potential re-opening of the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, the State Department said in a statement.

Trump also announced on Friday he’d meet with President Gustavo Petro in early February, but called on the Colombian leader to make quick progress on stemming flow of cocaine into the U.S.

Trump, following the ouster of Maduro, had made vague threats to take similar action against Petro. Trump abruptly changed his tone Wednesday about his Colombian counterpart after a friendly phone call in which he invited Petro to visit the White House.

President Donald Trump waves as he walks off stage after speaking to House Republican lawmakers during their annual policy retreat, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)