Ever since the 2025 NBA Finals were set, there has been an outcry that it doesn't feature any big-market teams, nor does it feature any of the NBA's biggest names—like LeBron James and Stephen Curry—in the league's most marquee matchup, which harms the product. In response, Utah Jazz alum CJ Miles has made it clear that he takes issue with this narrative.
When FS1's Jason McIntyre bashed the NBA Finals for the reasons mentioned above, Miles called him out. Miles even called out McIntyre for his real issue with the Oklahoma City Thunder facing the Indiana Pacers.
Nothing Miles says here is incorrect. This Finals matchup might not currently feature the biggest household names, but it still features two of the NBA's best young stars: Tyrese Haliburton and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who won the MVP this year. If anything, it demonstrates the wonderful future ahead for the NBA, which people should enjoy.
This NBA Finals matchup also shows the parity in the NBA, as it marks the seventh consecutive year that the same teams didn't return for the finals. After we saw the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors go head to head in four consecutive NBA Finals, now we're consistently seeing variety. What's wrong with that?
Better yet, when it's all said and done, either the Thunder or the Pacers will come away with their first NBA Championship. The Pacers won a few ABA titles in the 1970s, but have reached the finals only once before since the merger in 2000. The Thunder inherited the Seattle SuperSonics roster in 2008, but they don't claim the 1979 title Seattle won.
Some may prefer watching a rivalry play out like that in the NBA Finals, and there's nothing wrong with that, but there shouldn't be an issue when the best teams from both conferences make it to the final round. No matter what anyone thinks of the Thunder and Pacers, they got as far as they did because they earned it.
The bottom line is that there's no right or wrong way for the NBA Finals to come to be. No matter what two teams are there, whether they've been there before or never have been, it should still be an exciting matchup no matter what.
CJ Miles is a fondly remembered Jazz alum
Miles is also not an obscure Jazz alum. He might not have the Jazz legacy of Rudy Gobert or Donovan Mitchell, but he was an important cog on those Deron Williams teams, among others, from 2005 to 2012.
Miles himself looks back on those days fondly, as he appreciated the love the Jazz showed him on June 4.
Miles calling out McIntyre may have also been personal for him, as he played for the Pacers from 2014 to 2017.