Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

T.J. McConnell Apologizes to Pacers Fans After Heartbreaking Loss in NBA Finals

T.J. McConnell got emotional after his team's heartbreaking defeat in the NBA Finals.

Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Indiana Pacers waited for 25 years to reach the NBA Finals and forced the series to Game 7 where they suffered a 101-91 loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder. It has been a remarkable season for Indiana as they came close to their first-ever NBA championship glory but fell short. It was the first Game 7 in the NBA Finals since 2016 and Thunder had the last laugh.

After the heartbreaking loss, T.J. McConnell, Pacers guard shared his emotions in the post-game and apologized to the fans. The 33-year-old led Indiana with 16 points off the bench on 8-for-12 shooting after the devastating injury to star guard Tyrese Haliburton. McConnell averaged 12 points per game in the series.

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Karen Atkeson Confronts Cameraman Recording Pacers Guard’s Emotional Moment Post-Game

T.J. McConnell got emotional after his team’s heartbreaking defeat in the NBA Finals. After the final buzzer, the Pacers guard walked through the tunnel. McConnell was pretty emotional and cameraman followed him to capture the raw emotions of the guard. Indiana star met hugged a woman, later identified not as his mother, and shared a comfort moment.

The ESPN crew zoomed in when both hugged each other and tried to record the moment. The cameraman was quickly shooed away by Karen Atkeson, Pacers vice president of player relations. She was pretending to be the mother of McConnell, Shelly McConnell.

An ESPN camera got a little too close to T.J. McConnell after the Pacers fell in Game 7 to the Thunder and is told to stop filming. pic.twitter.com/a8s9IhHq5G
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 23, 2025

“Stop, Stop!” Atkeson told the cameraman. The clip later went viral and fans blasted on ESPN crew. “Why can’t cameramen give players some space after a tough loss?” a fan said after watching the footage. Recording the sorrow of defeat and breaking the privacy should be considered wrong.

Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

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A native of Jaipur, Rajasthan, journalist, and a complete soccer and basketball fan, he found the huge interest with basketball by watching videos of Allen Iverson and Tony Parker, but fell head over heels in love with the sport during the Warriors’ championship era (2015-2018). A sports game addict since his late PS1, he’s also passionate about the Eagles, Inter Miami and the Fever. He’s fortunate to have seen all his favorite teams win championships. He also has a special love for cricket and football (soccer), where he is a fan of Royal Challengers Bangalore and Barcelona.