'I don't think you're wrong to say the runner-up is as memorable or more memorable than the champion'
The Oklahoma City Thunder won the NBA championship Sunday night, with talk of a dynasty already beginning.
But in the wake of Game 7 of the NBA Finals, the Indiana Pacers lead the conversation.
The "Bill Simmons Podcast" on The Ringer broke down Game 7 after OKC's 103-91 win, spending the first 13 minutes on the team that lost.
"I don't think you're wrong to say the runner-up is as memorable or more memorable than the champion," Zach Lowe said. "This was like some sports magic stuff that happened to the Pacers. I'm not talking just about the crazy end-of-game Haliburton shots, buzzer beaters and miracle comebacks."
The Pacers had an unlikely comeback win in every round of the playoffs:
Lowe said he spoke with another team's general manager Sunday before Game 7.
"I asked 'What do you take out of this Pacers run, whether they win or lose?' And he said, 'Hope. We take hope because they are a study in alchemy and adding up to way more than the sum of its parts.'"
Haliburton earned third-team All-NBA honors and Pascal Siakam was named to the All-Star Game. Seven players averaged double-figure scoring in the regular season, and eight in the NBA Finals.
"Something magical happened to them in the nexus of style of play slash unique superstar, chemistry, toughness, how personalities and games all mesh together," Lowe said. It was magic."
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