NBA players might be magicians on the hardwood—but even they can’t out-dribble Mother Nature. As the Indiana Pacers prepared for the NBA Finals clash with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Tyrese Haliburton and Co. found themselves grounded—literally. Severe weather threw a wrench into their travel plans, forcing the team to pivot. And that wasn’t the only storm they had to weather this week. A botched giveaway left fans frustrated, and the franchise issued a very public apology. But let’s start with the travel drama.

It’s been a long, 25-year wait for the Pacers. But sadly, their wait was extended a little more. On Tuesday, severe weather and tornado warnings forced the Pacers to change their travel plans. Their charter flight to Oklahoma City was diverted to Tulsa because of the extreme weather. And after refueling at Tulsa, the plane had to take a longer route just to avoid yet another storm. The delay because of all this? 3.5 hours from when the team was scheduled to land. And Tyrese Haliburton had some thoughts.

“I slept the whole plane ride, which I don’t normally do. And we landed, and I was ready to get up, and they said we were in Tulsa. We sat there for another like hour then we took off again and felt like we were in the air again for another like hour and a half….So it’s like a five-hour travel day, we might as well just travel to Portland or something. Well, yeah, and it was a long travel day. But what can you do? Can’t none of us can control the weather. There’s worse problems in life,” said Tyrese Haliburton.

Judging from his comments Tyrese doesn’t sound too upset. Like he said, there are worse problems. Like what, you ask? Well, how about a well-intended gesture going wrong? Well, that’s what happened to the Pacers back in Indy as a gear giveaway ended in disaster. Thousands of people lined up in Downtown Indy as the Pacers gave away 5,000 swag bags of ‘Yes’cers’ gear. And within just a few hours, the Pacers were out of things to give away, forcing them to issue the following apology.

“Pacers fans, you showed out! The response to our NBA Finals gear grab has been incredible…Unfortunately, we are officially out of giveaway packs. If you were planning to head to Gainbridge Fieldhouse, please hold off. We are so grateful for your energy and support of the team,” said the message on their Instagram story.

So, the Pacers escaped a real storm just to get engulfed in a PR whirlwind. But your fans being overzealous in supporting you is a good problem to have for Tyrese Haliburton and company. After all, they are facing the best team in the league. And believe it or not, it’s exactly what the Pacers point guard wants.

Tyrese Haliburton stirs the pot with Oklahoma City Thunder comment ahead of NBA Finals

The Oklahoma City Thunder were the winningest team in the 2024/25 NBA regular season. With players like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Lu Dort, the Thunder are a two-way threat like no other, with quality on both offense and defense. And a lesser player would’ve been hoping for an easier matchup in their first-ever NBA Finals. Not Tyrese Haliburton, though. No, the 25-year-old actually relishes the opportunity.

During his media appearance ahead of the finals, Tyrese explained why he’s excited about going head-to-head against the 2025 NBA MVP and his team. “We know that this is a great team. If we’re to win a championship, I don’t wanna win any other way. I don’t wanna go around or go over — I wanna go through. You wanna go through the best team, you wanna go through the best challenge,” said the Pacers guard to the media.

It seems getting this far into the postseason has reinvigorated the competitive drive within Tyrese. His words reflect a man ready to face all comers. And if we’re being honest, you can’t beat the Thunder in a series without an attitude like this. They’ve got quality everywhere. And despite being a relatively young team, they have shown they can battle through adversity.

Less than 24 hours from Game 1 of the NBA Finals, the hype couldn’t be more real. One more sleep before we find out who sets the tone for this series. Will OKC and Shai bring the thunder, or will they struggle to keep pace with Tyrese Haliburton and Indiana? Let us know what you think!