What stars, eh? Why NBA Finals prove Canadian players are built for big stage

This time, in the Oklahoma City Thunder-Indiana Pacers Finals matchup, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort, Bennedict Mathurin and Andrew Nembhard aren’t just “repping Canada.” 

They’re shaping the outcome, and they could be the reason one team wins it all. Here’s a quick look at the Canadians who could tip the balance in this year’s NBA Finals.

SGA is MVP for a reason

Toronto-born Gilgeous-Alexander is having one of the greatest seasons by a guard in NBA history. He is the NBA MVP, a first-team All-NBA selection, Western Conference Finals MVP and this year's scoring champ (32.7 PPG).

If he adds the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP, SGA would join an elite club that hasn’t grown in 25 years: players who’ve won the MVP, scoring title and Finals MVP in the same season.

Per Fadeaway World, it has only happened six times, and the names are legendary:  Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1971), Michael Jordan (1991, 1992, 1996, 1998) and Shaquille O’Neal (2000).

SGA isn’t just making history for Canada. He’s rewriting what it means to be a superstar on the game’s biggest stage.

Enter the 'Dorture Chamber'

Montreal’s Dort is a playoff nightmare on defense. The Thunder guard, who averages 1.1 steals in the postseason, guards the best player on the floor and makes his life miserable.

In the Finals, that means Indiana's Tyrese Haliburton. And history doesn’t favor the Pacers' star, per Clemente Almanza of OKC Thunder Wire.

In two regular-season losses to OKC, Haliburton averaged 11 points and 5.5 assists, well below his usual numbers (18.8 PPG, 9.8 APG) thanks largely to Dort’s relentless pressure.

They don’t call him the “Dorture Chamber” for nothing. 

He’s the kind of player every Finals team needs: no flash, just stonewall defense and tone-setting toughness.

Mathurin can flip a game

Another Montreal native, Mathurin is Indiana’s secret weapon off the bench as a flamethrower who can swing a quarter in minutes.

In Game 4 of the East Finals vs. the New York Knicks, he logged the fewest minutes in a 20+ point game in NBA playoff history with only 12 (h/t StatMuse). In Game 5, he dropped 20 (6-for-10 shooting) and grabbed nine boards in 24 minutes.

So, if he gets hot, look out.

Nembhard keeps rising

Nembhard (Aurora, Ontario) is playing huge minutes and exceeding expectations, again.

He has raised his three-point shooting to .483 in back-to-back postseason after regular-season dips of .357 (2024) and .291 (2025). That ranks him third all time in career playoff three-point percentage across the NBA and ABA.

He has also boosted his postseason scoring from the regular season both years, from 9.2 to 14.9 PPG in 2024 and from 10 to 12.8 PPG in 2025, proving he’s built for the big stage. He also has boosted his steals from the  regular season  (1.2 per game) to  the postseason (1.6).

Final note

The NBA Finals tip off Thursday at 8 p.m. ET in Oklahoma City (ABC). Let the Canadian takeover begin.