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How Often Does The Home Team Win Game 7 In The NBA Finals?

Anthony Cardenas Written by Sports EditorAnthony Cardenas
Updated –
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After their dominant win on Thursday night, the Indiana Pacers have forced an unlikely Game 7 in the 2025 NBA Finals. They’ve been an underdog in every game so far this series, which will be true again for the deciding contest on Sunday, but have managed to pull off three wins over the heavily favored Oklahoma City Thunder.

Home Teams Are 15-4 In NBA Finals Game 7s

It will be a home game for OKC, played inside Paycom Center and in front of what will likely be a raucous crowd. Despite their overwhelming defeat in Game 6, there are plenty of reasons to believe that the Thunder will have the upper hand when the two sides square off, especially due to their home court advantage.

It was always known that the Thunder would have the edge when it came to any series going a full length of games. By finishing with the best record in the NBA at 68-14, OKC secured home court advantage throughout the postseason, which has already come into play once. In a hard-fought second round series against the Denver Nuggets, the Thunder were able to play Game 7 inside their own arena, which resulted in a decisive 32-point victory.

They’ll have that same advantage on Sunday. The Thunder will play host to the Pacers for the fourth and final time in the championship series, and history is certainly on their side in that respect. Of the 19 Game 7s that have occurred in NBA Finals history, the home team is 15-4, a winning percentage of better than 78%.

All Instances In Which The Road Team Won Game 7 In The NBA Finals:

  • 2016: Cavaliers over Warriors
  • 1978: Bullets over SuperSonics
  • 1974: Celtics over Bucks
  • 1969: Celtics over Lakers

When Was The Last Time A Road Team Won Game 7?

It hasn’t happened in nearly a decade. No NBA Finals series has reached a seventh game since 2016, which was the epic matchup between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers. After winning a record 73 regular season games and racking up a 3-1 series lead in the Finals, the Warriors choked away their opportunity to close out a historic season at the hands of LeBron James and company.

It represented one of the four times that the road team had been victorious in a championship-deciding game. It was the first time since 1978 that the road team was the one that came out on top.

The sportsbooks like the chances of the Thunder closing out a storybook season come Sunday. For the seventh straight game, they will be the favorites heading into the action, as the line has been set at 7.5 points in their favor.

Anthony Cardenas Written by Sports EditorAnthony Cardenas
All posts by Anthony Cardenas
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