NBA Finals 2025: Free TV broadcast, schedule & results

For decades, the NBA Finals have traditionally taken place in June. The coveted Larry O'Brien Trophy will be up for grabs again in 2025 – but without the usual top teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, Golden State Warriors, or Denver Nuggets. Instead, two teams that have previously been considered underdogs will face off: the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers – teams that many sports fans may not immediately recognize.

Both squads boast some of the best players in the league. And a German professional could make history—as a potential successor to Dirk Nowitzki.

When the games take place, the results, where they are broadcast, how much tickets cost and a preview of both teams – you can find all of this here.

The best-of-7 final series began on Friday night, June 6 , with Game 1 in Oklahoma. Tipoff was at 2:30 a.m. CET. In the USA, the first game started on Thursday evening at 7:30 p.m. local time—seven hours earlier.

The final series between the Thunder and the Pacers began on June 6 (CEST). The tournament will be played in a best-of-7 format , meaning a maximum of seven games are possible until one team reaches four wins. The first four games are guaranteed, and the number of subsequent games depends on the outcome of the series.

All data at a glance:

Good news for basketball fans: In Germany, all final games in 2025 will be broadcast live – just not completely free of charge.

The streaming service DAZN and NBA League Pass will show all seven games, but only with a paid subscription. Starting with Game 5, ProSieben Maxx will also broadcast the games on free TV, while the games will also be available for free streaming on Joyn .

Overview of the transmissions:

• Games 1-4: DAZN, NBA League Pass
• Games 5-7: DAZN, NBA League Pass, ProSieben Maxx, Joyn

The Oklahoma City Thunder are one of the NBA's younger franchises. They were founded in 2008 as the successors to the Seattle SuperSonics. The Thunder's greatest success to date came in 2012, when the team, featuring the then superstar trio of Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook, reached the Finals. However, they were eliminated by the Miami Heat, led by LeBron James.

What followed was a gradual rebuild. The decisive turning point came with a blockbuster trade in 2019: Following Paul George's departure to the LA Clippers, the Thunder not only secured several valuable first-round picks, but also Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – now one of the best players in the league. Together with Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams, he forms the heart of a young team. SGA, as the Canadian is known in the league, was even named the season's Most Valuable Player (MVP) in May 2025. His dominant numbers: 32.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 6.4 assists on average.

The Thunder played an outstanding season with 68 wins and also survived the playoffs with ease – only in the conference semifinals against the Denver Nuggets did they have to go the full distance of seven games.

The Indiana Pacers are also still chasing their first NBA title. Their last appearance in the Finals was 25 years ago: In 2000, they lost 4-2 to the Los Angeles Lakers. Back then, they had NBA legend Larry Bird as coach and stars like Reggie Miller and Chris Mullin on the court.

Today, players like Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam, Aaron Nesmith, and Myles Turner stand out. The team is led by Tyrese Haliburton —a playmaker with a strong understanding of the game and scoring ability. Alongside him shines the versatile forward Pascal Siakam , who was named MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals. This was a bit of a surprise, as Haliburton had been the clearly dominant player up until then.

In addition to these two stars, the team impresses above all with its poise, defensive presence, and team cohesion. The Pacers demonstrated nerves of steel in their run to the Finals, for example, in their spectacular comeback victory in Game 6 of the Conference Finals against the New York Knicks .

From a German perspective, Isaiah Hartenstein 's story is exciting. He has a great chance of becoming the second German NBA champion – 13 years after Dirk Nowitzki's historic triumph with the Dallas Mavericks. Nowitzki's coach at the time was Pacers coach Rick Carlisle, who led the Mavericks to the NBA title in 2011.

Hartenstein is a 2.13-meter-tall center from Quakenbrück , Germany. He played under his father in the youth team there. He gained his first professional experience with the local Artland Dragons. After a stint in Lithuania and a detour via the G-League, he made the leap to the NBA in 2017 – without going to college or going through the draft. After stints with several teams, he found his role with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2024.

This season he finally made his breakthrough: in 57 games he averaged over 10 points and 10 rebounds for the first time – a double-double that made him a permanent fixture in the starting five.

Prices vary depending on the game, venue, and demand. Although OKC and Indiana aren't among the big market teams, the costs are considerable: Official prices range from €400 to €4,000 – from the upper tier to courtside.

On the secondary market, prices of up to around 20,000 euros are even being called for.