This year’s NBA Finals, which get underway on June 5, will make Canadian basketball history.
For the first time ever, both teams—the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers—feature point guards from the Greater Toronto Area. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC Thunder), who was born in Toronto and grew up in Hamilton, and Andrew Nembhard (Indiana Pacers), from Aurora, are living their hoop dreams on the biggest basketball stage in the world.
In this year’s playoffs, both have been crucial cogs in their respective teams with Gilgeous-Alexander proving to be the best player in the entire NBA winning MVP and marching his team to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012. Meanwhile, Nembhard, who has only been in the NBA since 2022, has provided a steady hand on both sides of the ball, most meaningfully providing shut down defence against New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson in the series-clinching game 6 victory in Indiana.
From Backyard Courts to the Big Time
Gilgeous-Alexander and Nembhard both grew up just outside Toronto. Shai, raised in Hamilton, got serious about the game as a teenager, after famously being cut from his school team in Grade 9. Eventually, he landed a scholarship at the University of Kentucky, one of the top college basketball programs in the U.S.
Meanwhile, Nembhard was not a bona fide star out of the gate. He played high school basketball in Vaughan and then the famous Montverde Academy in Florida, before playing college ball at the University of Florida for two years then transferring to Gonzaga University, where he became known for his smart, steady play as a point guard.
Two Different Roads to the League
Gilgeous-Alexander entered the NBA Draft in 2018, and was selected 11th overall by the Charlotte Hornets and traded to the Los Angeles Clippers on the same day. After a rookie season with the Clippers, he was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder with a slew of draft picks, in a now-legendary trade for Paul George that facilitated that Thunder’s steady ascent to the top of the NBA.
Nembhard took a different path. He was selected in the second round of the 2022 NBA Draft by the Pacers. While second-round picks often struggle to find minutes, Nembhard earned a big role right away. When the Pacers acquired star Tyrese Haliburton, in another trade involving Paul George, and then former Raptors star Pascal Siakam last season, the team finally came together and proved the doubters wrong by ousting the Eastern Conference’s top teams with some ease to reach the NBA Finals
Although Haliburton usually runs the offence for the Pacers, Nembhard is likely to get the match-up on the other side of the ball defending the best scorer in the NBA in Gilgeous-Alexander.
Despite facing off now, these two are far from strangers. They have both suited up for Canada’s national team on numerous occasions including at last year’s Summer Olympics in Paris, France.
In addition to Gilgeous-Alexander and Nembhard, both teams also feature additional Canadian players. One of the key bench players for the Pacers is Bennedict Mathurin, who was born in Montreal. And, the Thunder’s best defensive player, one of the top defenders in the entire league is Luguentz Dort, also of Montreal.
For basketball fans in the Toronto area, this Finals is a proud moment. The rise of these great players shows how far Canadian basketball has come.
No matter which team wins the championship, Canadian fans can celebrate the fact that two local kids made it all the way to the top—and they’re just getting started.
