The list of Canadians to win the NBA title has just added two new names.
Gilegeous-Alexander had a game-high 29 points and was named NBA Finals MVP, while Dort added nine points and the Thunder beat the Indiana Pacers 103-91 in Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Sunday.
Hamilton’s Gilgeous-Alexander, who also had 12 assists and five rebounds in the win, became just the fifth player in NBA history to record at least 25 points, 10 assists and five rebounds in a Finals Game 7. Meanwhile, Montreal’s Dort made his presence felt on both ends of the floor and added seven rebounds and three steals to along with his nine points.
Two Canadians were guaranteed to lift the trophy regardless of the outcome with Canucks Andrew Nembhard and Bennedict Mathurin both playing on the Pacers.
Gilegeous-Alexander and Dort are the 11th and 12th Canadians to win an NBA title.
This is the fourth consecutive year with at least one Canadian on the champion team.
Mike Smrek was the first, capturing back-to-back championships with the “Showtime” era Los Angeles Lakers (1987-88). Bill Wennington earned three straight titles with the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls (1996-98) while Rick Fox also won three consecutive titles with the Los Angeles Lakers (2000-02).
Joel Anthony (Miami Heat, 2012, ’13), Cory Joseph (San Antonio Spurs, 2014), Tristan Thompson (Cleveland Cavaliers, 2016), Chris Boucher (Golden State Warriors 2018 and Toronto Raptors 2019), Andrew Wiggins (Golden State 2022), Jamal Murray (Denver Nuggets 2023), and Oshae Brissett (Boston Celtics 2024) have added their names to the list in recent years.
