OKLAHOMA CITY — While Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star and NBA Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was making his way to his press conference after eliminating the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, head coach Rick Carlisle stopped him in his tracks.

Add Finals MVP to Gilgeous-Alexander’s historic 2024-25 campaign, joining a rare group of champions to win the scoring title, regular-season MVP, and finals MVP in the same season.

For Carlisle, it was worth a handshake, as the veteran head coach approached Gilgeous-Alexander, who had his NBA Finals MVP trophy in his hand outside the visitors’ locker room at the Paycom Center.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with a double-double (29 points, 12 assists) to go with his two blocks and one steal in Game 7. Leading the Thunder to their first title in franchise history, Gilgeous-Alexander earned Most Valuable Player.

He averaged 30.3 points on 44.3% shooting, 5.6 assists, 4.6 rebounds, 1.9 steals, and 1.6 blocks against the Pacers, winning the NBA Finals MVP unanimously after such a convincing performance in the series clincher.

Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle, a veteran head coach and former player who captured an NBA championship with the Boston Celtics in 1986, made a classy gesture, showing respect to a young superstar entering his prime.

Rick Carlisle reacts to Tyrese Haliburton’s injury after Pacers loss

Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) is checked on after an apparent injury following a play against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the first half of game seven of the 2025 NBA Finals at Paycom Center
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After losing Game 7 of the NBA Finals, Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle addressed Tyrese Haliburton’s leg injury. Keeping his message short and sweet, Carlisle called Haliburton’s postseason run one of the most outstanding individual performances in NBA history.

Carlisle also reassured Pacers fans of Haliburton’s recovery during his media availability after the loss.

“All of our hearts dropped. He will be back,” Carlisle said. “He authored one of the great individual playoff runs in the history of the NBA.”

Haliburton was off to a terrific start in Game 7. Scoring nine points on three treys in seven minutes, Haliburton was on pace for a special night, which was cut short due to a ruptured right Achilles injury, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.

Confirming what most anticipated, Haliburton, unfortunately, joins a list of players, including Milwaukee Bucks’ Damian Lillard and Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum, whose ruptured Achilles injuries ended their postseason runs. After playing through a strained right calf injury, Haliburton was helped off the floor in the first half of the most important game in the Pacers’ franchise history.

With Hall of Fame guard Reggie Miller in attendance, the Pacers fell short of capturing their first NBA title.