The 2025 National Basketball Association Finals will commence in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on Thursday. For the second straight year, there will be four Canadians participating according to Basketball Canada. The two Canadians on the Indiana Pacers are small forward Bennedict Mathurin of Montreal, Quebec, and starting shooting guard Andrew Nembhard of Aurora, Ontario. The two Canadians on the Oklahoma City Thunder are starting point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of Toronto, Ontario, and starting small forward Luguentz Dort of Montreal.
Gilgeous-Alexander has had an unbelievable year. He was the NBA MVP, the NBA First-Team All-Star, the Magic Johnson Trophy winner for 2025 (best player in the Western Conference Finals), and led the NBA regular season in scoring (32.7 points per game). In the playoffs, Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 29.8 points per game, 6.9 assists per game, 5.7 rebounds per game, and 1.6 steals per game, with a field goal percentage of .471, three point percentage of .300 and a free throw percentage of .857.
Dort, who was on the NBA’s All-Defensive Team this year, is averaging 7.8 points per game, 3.6 rebounds per game, and 1.1 steals per game in the playoffs. He had a field goal percentage of .345, three point percentage of .304, and free throw percentage of .667.
Nembhard is averaging 12.8 points per game, 5.1 assists per game, 3.3 rebounds per game, and 1.6 steals per game. He has field goal percentage of .473, three point percentage of .483, and a free throw percentage of .833. Mathurin is averaging 10.4 points per game, and 2.5 rebounds per game. He has a field goal percentage of .484, three point percentage of .282, and an excellent free throw percentage of .919.
Last year, the Boston Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals four games to one. The Celtics had forward Oshae Brissett of Toronto. Meanwhile, the Mavericks had shooting guard A.J. Lawson of Toronto, power forward Olivier Maxence Prosper of Montreal, and center Dwight Powell of Toronto.