For the first time since the Cleveland Cavs’ Kyrie Irving and the Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry met in 2017, two All-NBA guards will square off in the NBA Finals. Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers beat the New York Knicks 125-108 in Saturday’s series-clinching Game 6 win. Haliburton and the Pacers won the Eastern Conference Finals, 4-2, setting the stage for a 2025 NBA Finals against All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Thunder’s Gilgeous-Alexander and the Pacers’ Haliburton are making NBA Finals history, per ESPN’s Zach Kram and Kevin Pelton.

“Gilgeous-Alexander and Haliburton are the first pair of All-NBA picks at point guard to meet in the Finals since Stephen Curry and Kyrie Irving a decade ago. Sadly, that matchup was short-lived: Irving suffered a left patella fracture in Game 1 of the series. (However, we got to see the two players square off again in both the 2016 and 2017 Finals),” Kram and Pelton reported.

Similar to when the 2016 MVP Stephen Curry and Kyrie Irving first met in the 2016 NBA Finals, the MVP award is in the hands of Gilgeous-Alexander, an All-NBA First Team guard. However, Haliburton, who made the All-NBA Third Team this season, flipped a switch in the second half of the regular season. The two guards are leading their respective conference championship teams to a new era as the Thunder make its first Finals appearance since 2012. For Indiana, it’s been two and a half decades.

Tyrese Haliburton reacts to Pascal Siakam winning ECF MVP

Pacers forward Pascal Siakam (43) is interviewed by Ernie Johnson after receiving the Larry Bird MVP Trophy game six of the eastern conference finals against the New York Knicks for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Gainbridge Fieldhouse
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As a byproduct of his playoff heroics, Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton thought he won MVP after Game 6. He delivered a clutch performance in the series opener, scoring 31 points, including a buzzer-beating three that sent the game into overtime as the Pacers took a 1-0 lead. Haliburton would go on to average 21.0 points on 45.5% shooting, 10.5 assists, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.5 steals in six games against the Knicks. But Pacers All-Star Pascal Siakam was named MVP.

After clinching the NBA Finals, Haliburton addressed Siakam’s impact.

“It’s special, man, when we brought him here, we envisioned doing something like this, doing something special,” Haliburton said. “It’s really special that he’s been here. He’s been like a big brother to me. Somebody that I can trust, somebody that I can really lean on and talk to. Just somebody that can always keep me steady.”

Siakam, who averaged 24.8 points, including scoring 31 points in Game 6, 5.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.3 steals, won the MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals.