Nick Wright says Pacers beating Thunder would be ‘greatest upset in NBA history

After blowing Game 4 and looking dead in Game 5 as Tyrese Haliburton attempted to battle through a calf injury, the Pacers dominated the Oklahoma City Thunder in Indiana Thursday night to force a Game 7 in the NBA Finals. A Finals that almost nobody, Vegas included, gave them much chance of winning. According to Nick Wright, if the Pacers win Game 7, it will be the greatest upset in NBA history.

“We are one game away from what is, in my opinion, without a doubt, the greatest upset in NBA history,” Wright said on his podcast. “It would be, per the bookmakers, tied with the Pistons beating the Lakers in ’04. But that series, the Lakers were all of a sudden, an old team that were dealing with injuries…this to me is more shocking.

“A Thunder team that was absolutely rolling at every step of the season. That took back control of the series in Game 4, I thought put their foot on the Pacers throat in Game 5, to just get annihilated like that and to now be on the brink of what would be an all-time missed opportunity and a collapse for the ages.”

There are other arguments. The Cleveland Cavaliers coming back down from 3-1 against the Golden State Warriors in 2016 should be in the conversation, but that featured a week where arguably the best player in NBA history (LeBron James) was playing the best basketball of his career.

The 2011 Dallas Mavericks beating the Miami Heat also deserves a mention, which conversely featured arguably the best player in NBA history playing some of the worst basketball of his career, particularly in Game 5 where James infamously scored just eight points. Dallas may not have been the betting longshot in 2011 that Indiana was before this NBA Finals, but few expected the Mavericks to beat the Big 3 in Miami that year. And the Pacers (50-32 this year) are far from the list of NBA champions with the worst regular-season records, including the 1995 Houston Rockets (47-35) and 1978 Washington Bullets (44-38).

The biggest case against the Pacers, aside from the fact that they haven’t accomplished the feat yet, might be that they’re playing a team without a championship pedigree. But Wright still may be right. Because the Oklahoma City Thunder entered these Finals, not only expected to win a championship, but expected to jumpstart a potential dynasty.

For the Indiana Pacers, who nobody expected to get out of the second round of the playoffs, to take that championship away from Oklahoma City seemed like a near impossible fear. They’re one game away from making history, but the toughest task for Indiana is still in front of them, winning a Game 7 in Oklahoma City.