As the NBA rolls out their schedule, they have intentionally added pieces to make the long season more exciting and engageable for fans like the NBA Cup or Rivals Week. This year during rivalry week, though, the Indiana Pacers are scheduled to play the Oklahoma City Thunder. Unfortunately, the real theme in this “Rivals Week” is a championship rematch, not a rivalry.
Two days before the Pacers play OKC in a Finals rematch, OKC plays Milwaukee in an NBA Cup Finals rematch. There is some irony here that places the NBA fixture above the teams playing the games. Just because Indy lost to OKC in the Finals (and OKC lost to the Bucks in the NBA Cup), that does not make it a rivalry. Big-time losses sting, but rivalries are filled with much more face-to-face intensity that a game alone cannot conjure. Even some of whatever luster does come in a Pacers–Thunder matchup might even be lost with this being their second meeting of the season.
The NBA swung and missed on some incredibly high-quality rivalry matchups that will elicit significant drama and buzz, even without the rivalry tag. Two of the clearest options for the Pacers would have been the Bucks and the Knicks.
Bucks’ bad blood runs deep
There is no lower-hanging fruit than the distaste between the Pacers and the Bucks. Myles Turner’s defection to Milwaukee stung the Pacers, much like KD’s swing from OKC to Golden State did almost 10 years ago. The Bucks have lost in the first round of the playoffs three years in a row, the last two by Indiana.
Have we already forgotten the 11 matchups just two years ago that resulted in an 8-3 record for Indy, a Pacers’ trip to the In-Season Tournament Finale, and the Bucks being bounced in the playoffs as the higher seed? Have we forgotten Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo keeping the ball from Tyrese Haliburton in the Indianapolis-hosted All-Star game so he couldn’t win game MVP? Have we forgotten John Haliburton in Giannis' face after the round 1 win last year? Have we forgotten about the ball and Giannis’ 64 piece in Indy?
Indiana–Milwaukee is a true rivalry. Each game is filled with grit and is liable to become explosive at any moment. The NBA wants a Rivals Week? Bring on Indy vs. Milwaukee.
New Knicks, same frustrations
Similar to the Bucks, the Pacers’ postseason bouts of the last few seasons have made every matchup between with the Knicks a must-see event. This rivalry, though, has the foundation of historic bad blood (where you at, Spike Lee?) and tough games to build upon (some of them are truly iconic).
The Knicks are scheduled to play the 76ers during Rivalry Week. That matchup is all well and good, but Indy going into Madison Square Garden and taking a Conference Semifinal Game 7 from the Knicks in 2024 and denying them another Game 7 at MSG and a trip to the NBA Finals in 2025 would seemingly create more animosity than a matchup against a team with oft-injured All-Stars in Philly. This rivalry is also defined by off-the-court beef. From Haliburton being a “wannabe” All-Star to Haliburton being named to the Olympic team over Jalen Brunsen, these two teams have almost as much drama in recent years as they have in their older history.
If that wasn’t enough, the Pacers’ furious comeback in Game 1 of last year’s Conference Finals is one for the ages and heralds a shot as iconic as any in recent years. The NBA seemed so busy focusing on their big game rematches that they overlooked a true David and Goliath story– especially considering David has given Goliath fits over the last few years.
A rematch with Oklahoma City will certainly carry intrigue and emotion, but the schedule makers overlooked the heart of a rivalry. This disdain is not forged in a heartbreaking loss, but it is built by consistently tough play, by overflowing emotions, by players calling for all the smoke, and by the drama that makes sports what they are: pure entertainment.