Tyrese Haliburton Says Pacers Facing 'Historically Great' Thunder Team in NBA Finals

The Oklahoma City Thunder bring arguably their best team in franchise history into the NBA Finals, led by MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and a strong group of players alongside him.

Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton knows what he's up against.

"They're historically great on both sides of the ball," Haliburton said, per ESPN's Jamal Collier. "They have the MVP. There's so many different things you could name down the list of why they are so great at what they do, why they're such a great team."

The Thunder had the third-best offensive rating in the NBA and the best defensive rating in the league during the regular season, per NBA.com. Oklahoma City's net rating of 12.8 is the second-best in NBA history, only behind the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls, who finished the season 72-10.

Across the board, the Thunder have very few flaws.

But while the Pacers didn't have the best regular season, they've been outstanding over the past few weeks. Indiana had no trouble with the Milwaukee Bucks or Cleveland Cavaliers in the first and second rounds, and managed to get past the New York Knicks in six games.

The Thunder, however, will be the biggest test yet. Haliburton is all for the challenge ahead.

"You want to go through the best team, the best challenge. This is the best challenge," Haliburton said. "This is the best team in the NBA. It's been the best team in the NBA all year. They're well-coached. They just do everything so well. There's no shortcuts to beating this team. We know the odds are stacked against us. It is what it is. We want to be here. We want to play against the best. This is the best. We look forward to the challenge as a group."