OKLAHOMA CITY — After a quarter-century wait, the Indiana Pacers are finally on the cusp of the NBA Finals once more. Yet, their journey hit an unexpected delay due to severe weather conditions on Tuesday, pushing back their arrival time by several hours.
Originally en route to Oklahoma City, the Pacers’ charter flight had to make an unexpected stop in Tulsa, Oklahoma. After refueling, the team took an indirect route to avoid another bout of storms, finally touching down in Oklahoma City approximately three and a half hours later than planned.
The team arrived to a sunny skyline around 7 p.m., although just hours before, Oklahoma City was under multiple weather warnings including for tornadoes, floods, and thunderstorms. This tumultuous weather was looming even as the Pacers’ left Indianapolis, leaving them in uncertainty as they were rerouted. Numerous flights within Oklahoma City faced similar delays due to the adverse weather that included heavy rain and strong winds.
Scheduled to participate in the NBA Finals media day on Wednesday, both the Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder are gearing up for Game 1 of the championship series, slated for Thursday night. The finals mark a significant return for the Pacers, whose last appearance was in 2000, while the Thunder last played in the finals in 2012.
Myles Turner, the Pacers’ center, expressed the team’s anticipation before departing Indianapolis. “You spend so much time thinking about getting there, but it’s like, you’re here now,” Turner said. “You didn’t really spend a lot of time thinking about, ‘OK, when I’m here, I’m going to do this, I’m going to do that.’ It’s like, ‘Let’s just get there.’ So now, that milestone has been achieved. It’s about doing something with the opportunity.”
Meanwhile, tumultuous weather loomed over attendees in Oklahoma, one event being a spotted tornado in the vicinity of Norman, Oklahoma, near the University of Oklahoma campus. Though details of any potential touchdown or damage remain unclear, such severe weather conditions were an additional hurdle for the Pacers, who bided their time in Tulsa awaiting clearer skies.
Norman lies about 20 miles south of Oklahoma City, while Tulsa is situated around 120 miles northeast. As the teams prepare for their finals debut, fans and players alike are hopeful for fairer weather ahead as they get set for what promises to be an electrifying showdown on the court.