On Sunday, June 22, 2025, Miri Ben-Ari made music history in Oklahoma City, becoming the first artist to headline an NBA Finals halftime show, where she gave a rousing performance at halftime of Game 7 between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers.
Speaking with the Jerusalem Post from the US, Ben-Ari, who is the only violinist to win a Grammy in the Hip-Hop category, reflected on the honor of being chosen to play before a capacity crowd and worldwide TV audience at one of the world’s premier sporting events. “I didn’t know that I was the first recording artist ever to do this, which is a great honor. I’m still processing it.”
Ben-Ari, who performed at the Jerusalem Post Conference in New York in May, received an invitation to play at Game 7 after the Pacers defeated the Thunder in Game 6 on Friday, which pushed the series to its limit of seven games. Her regular sound engineer was in Israel and was unable to fly to the US, because Israel’s airspace was closed due to the Israel-Iran war. Ben-Ari had to quickly find a replacement engineer and fly to Oklahoma.
Upon arriving at the arena, Ben-Ari organized the dance team that was there for her performance. "I wanted to blend the energy of this game’s cheerleading with artistic dance elements that would complement my violin performance." Referring to the last-minute preparations, she says, “This is where the skills that you have and your experience kick in.”
While Ben-Ari performed a number of popular tunes in her repertoire, the highlight, for Oklahoma fans, was her rendition of Thunderstruck, the AC/DC hit that has been one of the team’s theme songs.
Ben-Ari said that she did not receive any negative comments or remarks about her Jewish and Israeli heritage at the game. “I don’t think anyone was focused on hate. Sports and music bring us together.”
Ben-Ari, whose parents live in Israel, says that she received phone notifications of missile attacks in Israel during the war, and was in constant contact with them to make sure they were ok. The events that took place in Israel, she says, put things in perspective. “The NBA Finals are one of the biggest events in the world, but what was going on in the Middle East was bigger than anything.”
The NBA has traditionally featured dancers and acrobats in halftime performances, but had never hosted a musical artist for Game 7. Ben-Ari appreciated the opportunity to make history. “My entire career is all about innovation, stretching the envelope and thinking outside the box,” said Ben-Ari, who says that she considers her Finals performance as one of the highlights of her career.