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. And they 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.
“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.”