The 2025 NBA Finals kick off in a matter of hours, as the 68-win juggernaut Oklahoma City Thunder will host Game 1 against an underdog Indiana Pacers team which keeps finding ways to defy the odds. Before the series tips off, here is a look at the Sixers' plentiful connections to figures on both sides:

T.J. McConnell

The headliner, of course, is McConnell, now a veteran of 10 NBA seasons and set to make his Finals debut as the leader of Indiana's second unit. Perhaps the only thing more surprising than McConnell's tremendous four-year run with the Sixers is that since departing he has staged a longer and more productive tenure with another organization. But in six years with the Pacers, the Pittsburgh native has done just that.

This week's 5 Sixers thoughts led with the incredible nat

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