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As Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander prepares for the NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers, he will be representing his home country of Canada. While the Thunder guard isn't looking past the Pacers, he did acknowledge how satisfying it will be to represent Canada with others on either side.
Besides Gilgeous-Alexander, there is Indiana guard Andrew Nembhard, who's also Canadian, saying not only will it be fun, but even reminiscing about how they used to play basketball when they were nine years old.
“It'll be fun. Like you said, like playing with those guys, like I played against Andrew when I was nine years old,” Gilgeous-Alexander said via NBA TV. “Like, it's been an amazing journey, and to see him having success, my own success, obviously, Lu's success, it's special. It's hard to even wrap your head around just kids that like, there's so many kids that played in the same games that we played, and for us to make it to the stage is a testament to our hard work, our character, the people around us that help us get here. And it's been a blessing. It's been super fun.”
“I played against Andrew [Nembhard] when I was 9 years old.”
Shai's excited to compete with his Team Canada teammates on the biggest stage 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/DwlE7SrDkp
— NBA TV (@NBATV) June 4, 2025
Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Steve Nash's impact on Canada
As the Thunder star in Gilgeous-Alexander is another international player who won MVP, he will look to add a championship to his already impressive young resume. One legend whom Gilgeous-Alexander spoke about as being a “pioneer of Canadian basketball” is Steve Nash.
“Yeah, it would be amazing. Steve, obviously, is the pioneer for Canadian basketball,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “He started the whole thing, I guess you can say, from the way he plays, to the way he carries himself, to his approach to the game. Like, I learned so much from Steve, being a 17-year-old kid, in two weeks of time, that helped me get here for sure, so the things he's done with Canada basketball, in the whole, and just pushed the culture for it, have been amazing.”
“It would be amazing… Steve [Nash] is a pioneer for Canadian basketball.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the possibility of winning MVP and the NBA Finals in the same season and Steve Nash's impact on his career 🗣️
(via @NBATV)pic.twitter.com/TrFbyWgphK
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) June 4, 2025
At any rate, Gilgeous-Alexander looks to make Canada and the Thunder proud as Game 1 of the NBA Finals is on Thursday night against the Pacers.
