Myles Turner foresees end of NBA's superteam era, envisions 'new blueprint' as Pacers, Thunder reach Finals

For years, so-called superteams disrupted the NBA's competitive balance and dominated the league to build impenetrable dynasties. From the Golden State Warriors' extended run as perennial Finals favorites to the Miami Heat's Big 3, franchises invested heavily in veteran superstars and leaned on them to establish a reign over the league. 

The 2025 NBA Finals marks a step away from that era, though, as the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder meet in a series between young rosters composed of modest contracts.

Pacers center Myles Turner said the last two teams standing in the 2025 playoffs could be trendsetters and pave the way for a new roster-building movement.

"It's a new blueprint for the league, man," Turner said after the Pacers' series-clinching win in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals. "I think the years of the superteams and stacking, it's not as effective as it once was. Since I've been in the league, the NBA is very trendy. It just shifts. The new trend now is kind of what we're doing."

Six big questions about the 2025 NBA Finals: Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers enter the Thunderdome

James Herbert

It is not as if the Pacers and Thunder do not boast star players. After all, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won the MVP award last month after he put together one of the best seasons by a guard in recent history. Tyrese Haliburton continues to cement his status as one of the league's top floor generals, too.

Talent is still a prerequisite for championship contention. This year's finalists are significantly different from many of their predecessors, though, in that they feature less superstardom at the top and more depth across the board. No Pacers player averaged more than 33.6 minutes per game in the regular season, and only one Thunder player averaged more than 32.4. Their models are testaments to chemistry, depth and lineup flexibility.

"OKC does the same thing," said Turner. "Young guys get out and run, defend and use the 'power of friendship,' is how they call it."

These are two of the youngest, most affordable rosters in the NBA, and they rolled past significantly more veteran and expensive squads on their way to the finals. The Pacers, according to Spotrac, have the 10th-lowest total salary cap allocation in the league. The Thunder roster is even more affordable with the fifth-lowest cap allocation. The former entered the season with the 12th-youngest roster while the latter opened its 68-win regular season as the youngest team in the NBA with an average age of just over 24.

Roster continuity is also a hallmark of both organizations. Indiana is largely the same unit as it was a year ago. Haliburton, Bennedict Mathurin, Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith have been lineup mainstays since 2022. Oklahoma City loaded up on draft picks, hit on them at a high rate and now boasts a mostly homegrown roster with a tremendous blend of youth and talent.

The similar squads already proved themselves against their contemporaries. Regardless of who climbs to the top in the postseason's final series, the game may be changed.