TJ McConnell’s Bombshell NIL Deal with Celtics Shocks BBN: Will He Ditch Pacers After Game 7 Glory?

BREAKING:TJ McConnell’s Bombshell NIL Deal with Celtics Shocks BBN: Will He Ditch Pacers After Game 7 Glory!…See More…

INDIANAPOLIS — The NBA Finals just got messy. TJ McConnell, the Indiana Pacers’ scrappy, undersized heart-and-soul, has dropped a bombshell that’s got fans, analysts, and Big Blue Nation (BBN) spiraling. On the eve of a win-or-go-home Game 7 against the Oklahoma City Thunder on June 22, 2025, word broke of a jaw-dropping Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deal between McConnell and — brace yourself — the Boston Celtics’ marketing arm. Is TJ, the darling of Indy’s Cinderella Finals run, plotting a backstabbing exit?

The deal’s a shocker. Sources say McConnell’s set to hawk Celtics-branded merch, star in Boston ad campaigns, and run youth clinics in Beantown. All this while he’s locked into a four-year, $45 million Pacers extension from August 2024. “TJ’s got Boston in his blood,” a source dished. “This isn’t just cash — it’s a wink at a bigger move.” Celtics green? Fans are fuming.

Pacers Nation is livid. “TJ’s our guy!” roared Indy local Tara Evans outside Gainbridge Fieldhouse. “Boston? That’s a gut punch.” X is a warzone, with #TJTraitor trending alongside memes of McConnell in a Celtics jersey. BBN, Kentucky’s hoops-obsessed fanbase, is reeling too. TJ’s gritty style made him a Wildcat icon, but cozying up to Boston feels like treason. “He’s ours,” tweeted @BBNForever
. “Why the Celtics?”

The timing’s pure chaos. McConnell’s Game 6 explosion — 12 points, nine boards, six dimes, four steals — torched OKC 108-91, forcing the first Finals Game 7 since 2016. He’s been a playoff monster, averaging 11.3 points, 4.3 assists, and 2.3 steals off the bench. His Game 3 stat line (10 points, five assists, five steals) made him the first reserve in 50 years to hit that mark in a Finals game. With Tyrese Haliburton’s calf injury looming over Game 7, Indy needs TJ’s fire.

But Boston’s playing dirty. The Celtics, humiliated by Indy in the 2024 East Finals, seem to be stirring the pot. Is this NIL deal a psychological jab to rattle the Pacers? Or a prelude to a trade? Isaiah Thomas, ex-Celtics star, tossed fuel on the fire, tweeting, “TJ my kinda player, for real!” Fans are screaming tampering, but the NBA’s staying quiet.

The Celtics’ involvement adds a layer of intrigue, given their bitter playoff history with the Pacers, including Indy’s stunning upset over Boston in the 2024 Eastern Conference Finals. Some speculate Boston’s move is a calculated jab to destabilize Indiana before Game 7, while others see it as a prelude to a blockbuster trade. McConnell’s playoff brilliance — averaging 11.3 points, 4.3 assists, and 2.3 steals off the bench — makes him a hot commodity, and his Game 3 feat as the first reserve in over 50 years to notch 10 points, five assists, and five steals in a Finals game has GMs salivating

McConnell, ever the stoic, dodged questions about the deal pre-game, saying only, “My focus is Game 7. Nothing else.” But his silence hasn’t quelled the speculation. If the Pacers fall short tonight, will TJ bolt for Boston, chasing a ring and a bigger stage? Or will a championship cement his legacy in Indy? One thing’s certain: this NIL bombshell has turned the Finals into a soap opera, and the drama’s just heating up.