Rick Carlisle was evidently looking for bulletin board material before Game 7 of the Finals.
The Pacers head coach, just minutes away from one of the biggest games he'd ever coach on Sunday, opened his pregame presser not by speaking about the game itself, but rather a video that caught his eye: footage of Thunder-themed championship parade buses that were posted to social media.
With the buses pre-designed to make life easier in the case that Oklahoma City did win a championship in Game 7, Carlisle seemed to not take the early preparations too kindly before his Pacers squad played the final game of the 2024-25 NBA season.
📲 Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp
Here's what Carlisle had to say about the Thunder parade buses and a look at the videos that went viral.
MORE: Live updates, results from Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals
Rick Carlisle says Thunder parade bus is 'all I'm thinking about' before Game 7
One of the first things Carlisle said before Game 7 on Sunday was about a video he had just seen online. With the NBA Finals tied 3-3, it makes sense that both the Pacers and Thunder organizations would prepare for winning a title in Game 7 — but when clips of Oklahoma City's parade buses went around, Carlisle took notice.
"I just saw a video that's probably gonna go viral of some buses, open-top buses, presumably for their parade that are already painted for [the Thunder] as champions," Carlisle said pregame. "So, that's all I'm thinking about right now."
Rick Carlisle mentions a video he saw where the Thunder already had buses painted with them as champions 👀
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) June 22, 2025
"That's all I'm thinking about right now." pic.twitter.com/p7E2DpZuIs
It's certainly not out of the ordinary for teams to prepare merchandise or other designs when they're on the brink of a championship. After all, it's almost universally the case across professional sports that when a team secures a title, there are immediately shirts, hats, and more available that highlight their accomplishment.
The Thunder's title-themed bus was no exception, but it seemed that Carlisle was naturally using it as fuel for his squad in Game 7. As ESPN's Ramona Shelburne wrote on the topic, "it’s not surprising OKC would be preparing for a parade in advance."
Obviously this is incredible bulletin board material before a Game 7, but honestly it’s not surprising OKC would be preparing for a parade in advance. Logistically this is expected for such a massive event in any city. Just like in Indianapolis there is video of port-o-potties… https://t.co/26Pv0DbYzB
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) June 22, 2025
Here's a better look at the pre-designed buses for a Thunder parade, posted to social media a few hours before Game 7:
Here’s the video of buses ready for a potential Thunder parade. You can be certain this will be shown to the team before team warmuppic.twitter.com/qGq5eBZWWQ
— Scott Agness (@ScottAgness) June 22, 2025
For what it's worth, that wasn't the only bulletin board material the Pacers could have used ahead of the last Finals game. The entire ESPN crew picked Oklahoma City to win Game 7, too:
The entire ESPN crew picked the Thunder to win Game 7
— BetMGM 🦁 (@BetMGM) June 22, 2025
We've seen this one before pic.twitter.com/G6PFmPiL0s