O Canada: Finals matchup between Olympic teammates
Gilgeous-Alexander, Nembhard getting attention
Tim Reynolds
| The Associated Press | Posted: June 7, 2025 9:41 PM | Last
Updated: 9 hours ago
Oklahoma City's Lu Dort, Indiana's Bennedict Mathurin are other
2 Canadians in finals
Image | Gilgeous-Alexander/Nembhard
Caption: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder
is defended by Andrew Nembhard of the Indiana Pacers during the
first quarter in Game One of the 2025 NBA Finals on Thursday in
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
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The NBA Finals. East vs. West. Indiana vs. Oklahoma City.
Canada vs. ... Canada?
It sure seemed like it at times in Game 1 of the series, anyway
— and odds are, there will be more of those moments throughout
the rest of this matchup between the Pacers and Thunder.
There are four Canadians in the series, and two of them — NBA
MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the Thunder and Andrew Nembhard
for the Pacers — went head-to-head plenty in Game 1.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 38 points; Nembhard scored eight of
his 14 in the fourth and was on the floor for the entirety of
Indiana's 32-16 run that ended the game and turned a 15-point
deficit into a one-point win.
"He's a competitor. He's a winner," Gilgeous-Alexander said.
"Plays the game the right way on both ends of the floor. Really
good player. Yeah, he's a winner for sure. No doubt."
They have been playing alongside each other since they were
kids and were teammates on Canada's national team at the Paris
Olympics in 2024.
"I think playing in the finals is a crazy experience," Nembhard
said Saturday. "Walking onto the court was something you live
for. The crowd was amazing. The noise was the most I ever felt
in a game. It kind of all just came together. The nerves
settled in, and it was a fun game."
He and Gilgeous-Alexander saw plenty of each other on both ends
of the floor in Game 1, plus weren't afraid to mix it up with a
little extra push here or choice words there. Nothing over the
line, but enough to remind the other that it's all business
right now.
"Nothing more than two guys wanting to win," Gilgeous-Alexander
said. "No malicious intent behind it, just wanting to win."
Canadian takeover in finals
Oklahoma City's Lu Dort and Indiana's Bennedict Mathurin are
the other two Canadians in the finals. The four Canadian
players combined for 72 points in Game 1; that's the most ever
in any finals game by players from any individual country other
than the U.S.
That smashed the previous mark for points from Canadians in a
finals game; it was 34, all from Jamal Murray, for Denver in
Game 3 against Miami in 2023.
"It's amazing for our country," Nembhard said.
It's not just Gilgeous-Alexander who has long-time familiarity
with Nembhard. Thunder forward Chet Holmgren played with
Nembhard at Gonzaga as well.
* Pacers stun Thunder in NBA Finals Game 1 as Haliburton caps
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* These NBA Finals are very Canadian
"Obviously, he's my guy, great dude," Holmgren said. "I have a
lot of compliments for him as a basketball player and a person.
But we're playing against him right now, so I'm going to hold
on to all those."
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle knows the Gilgeous-Alexander vs.
Nembhard matchup might be viewed by some as a game within the
game. He said Nembhard "loves the challenge" of matching wits
with Gilgeous-Alexander.
"I mean, you don't stop players today," Carlisle said. "You try
to make it hard. He played with Shai on the Olympic team and so
they have familiarity. They are both from Canada and they both
have played a lot with and against each other over the years.
But this is the ultimate challenge, a guy like him who is the
MVP."
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