Clinching games are always packed with emotion, and Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals was no exception.
The Pacers came up one win short of a championship after OKC’s 103-91 win, and that emotion came pouring out from the players, especially T.J. McConnell. The team’s Vice President of Player Relations, Karen Atkeson, wanted to make sure McConnell’s emotional moment could be experienced in private, as she scolded an ESPN cameraman for filming the teary-eyed bench star in the team tunnel after the game.
McConnell was one of the best players for Indiana in the winner-take-all game, posting 16 points and six rebounds, and he single-handedly kept his team in the game with 10 straight points in the third quarter. However, his heroics weren’t enough to overcome Oklahoma City’s suffocating defense.
Here’s a look at the moment in the tunnel with McConnell.
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T.J. McConnell cries in tunnel after Game 7
Following the conclusion of the game, an ESPN cameraman followed McConnell and Atkeson down the tunnel. At one point, McConnell turned toward Atkeson for an embrace, and that’s when she asked the person to stop filming.
T.J. McConnell’s mom waves off the ESPN crew as they follow him crying down the tunnel 😬 pic.twitter.com/6niBORZ5sR
— Underdog (@Underdog) June 23, 2025
The above post — and many others — mistakenly referred to the woman as McConnell’s mother, but she is, in fact, Indiana’s VP of Player Relations.
T.J. McConnell stats Game 7 vs. Thunder
FINAL: Thunder 103, Pacers 91
- Points: 16
- Rebounds: 6
- Assists: 3
- Steals: 1
- Blocks: 1
- TOs: 7
- FGM-FGA: 8-13
- 3PM-3PA: 0-0
- FTM-FTA: 0-0
After Tyrese Haliburton’s devastating injury early in the first quarter, McConnell came off the bench and stepped up to keep the Pacers in the game. He had 16 points, including 10 straight in the third quarter, to go with six rebounds and three assists.
However, McConnell also had a game-high seven turnovers. Facing the best defense in the NBA, Indiana turned the ball over 21 times as a team.
T.J. McConnell highlights Game 7 vs. Thunder
T.J. McConnell went right at him and lays it in on the reverse 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/FlzHun3uAs
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) June 23, 2025
T.J. McConnell gets in the lane and sinks the jumper.
he’s on FIRE in the third 🔥 pic.twitter.com/KvvHCgK8D8
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) June 23, 2025
T.J. McConnell AGAIN.
he’s scored our last 10 points. pic.twitter.com/amr5RSuKAH
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) June 23, 2025
