The game was over. The confetti wasn’t for them. As the Oklahoma City Thunder celebrated their first NBA championship on their home floor, the Indiana Pacers began the long, quiet walk back to the locker room. For a team that had defied expectations all season, this was the end of the road. And for T.J. McConnell the sting of the 103-91 loss was etched on his face.
After Tyrese Haliburton went down with a devastating Achilles injury in the first quarter, it was McConnell who single-handedly tried to will his team to victory. He was a force of nature. But it wasn’t enough. And as he walked off the court, head down, the weight of the moment was palpable.
He wasn’t alone, though. Walking beside him was his mother, Shelly, her arm wrapped around him in a protective embrace. But in the world of modern sports media, there are no private moments. As an ESPN camera crew closed in, zooming in on their faces, Shelly McConnell had had enough. She turned, her face a mask of a mother’s fierce, protective instinct, and gestured at the camera. “Stop!” she yelled.
TJ McConnell’s mom told the cameraman to stop recording
(h/t @MrBuckBuckNBA)pic.twitter.com/BlXzlOqrWj
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) June 23, 2025
But just as one camera was being pushed away, another captured a different kind of interaction, one that spoke volumes without a single word being heard. As McConnell continued his slow walk toward the tunnel, another figure stepped into his path. It was Reggie Miller. The greatest Pacer of all time. The man who knows a thing or two about going through a Finals heartbreak. Miller didn’t offer a soundbite. He just wrapped his arms around the young point guard who had poured his heart out for his old team. He pulled him in close and patted him on the back.
Reggie supports an emotional T.J. McConnell.
Pacers fam through the ups and downs. pic.twitter.com/yn8BcQWUmK
— NBA (@NBA) June 23, 2025
(This is a developing story…)
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