Right now, it seems like no matter whether the Indiana Pacers or the Oklahoma City Thunder raise the Larry O’Brien Trophy, the Canadian Men’s Basketball Team will be the biggest winner. With the rise of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as a perennial MVP candidate in the NBA, Canada now has one of the best players they can throw at the USA the next time they meet in an event.
Canadian Men’s Basketball Team is the Winner of the NBA Finals
What these Finals and playoffs have shown is that Canada might have the best backcourt at the next Olympics or World Cup. SGA and Andrew Nembhard have been two of the best performers during the NBA playoffs.
SGA established himself as a star over the past few seasons, but Nembhard has been a welcome surprise for the Canadian men’s basketball team. The third-year player has been awesome in the playoffs for the Pacers, averaging 12.8 points on 46.7% shooting from the floor and 45.7% from three-point range. At the same time, he dishes out 5.1 assists per game while guarding the opposing team’s best guard.
During the course of these playoffs, Nembhard guarded Donovan Mitchell and Jalen Brunson. With his rise as a great defender and reliable point guard, Canada now has one more perimeter defender they can throw at teams. They already had Lu Dort, but with Nembhard, that Canadian perimeter defense can be scary.
In Games 1-5, Andrew Nembhard defended Jalen Brunson for 49 match-ups, allowing 51.0 player points per 100 match-ups
In Game 6, Nembhard defended Brunson for 55 match-ups, giving up just 9.1 player points per 100 match-ups
He was sensational. pic.twitter.com/VQNoJSo22x
— Caitlin Cooper (@C2_Cooper) June 1, 2025
During Game 1 of the Finals, it was Nembhard who ran the offense for the Pacers and provided a stable hand. In Game 2, the Thunder completely dominated the matchup, but Andrew was still good with 11 points on 4-8 shooting.
Canada vs. USA Might Be More Even than Ever
On their way to the NBA Finals, Nembhard and SGA eliminated two of the best potential guards on the 2028 USA basketball roster, Brunson and Anthony Edwards. The former was the leader during the last World Cup, while Ant tried to be the best young player on the Paris 2024 Olympic team. While Nembhard didn’t completely shut down Brunson, he did as good a job as anyone could have. During the Western Conference Finals, SGA proved to be the better offensive player than Ant.
With veterans like Kevin Durant, LeBron James, and Steph Curry probably not participating in the 2028 Olympics, Ant might be the leading face of that USA basketball roster. And right now, it seems like Canada has the better backcourt duo.
How Canada Can Replicate Thunder’s Formula
The fun part about the Canadian Men’s Basketball team is that they have the roster to replicate the same way that the OKC Thunder play. The Thunder forces turnovers and gets a huge chunk of their points from fast breaks. They throw defenders like Alex Caruso, Jalen Williams, Dort, and Cason Wallace at teams.
Canada has a great range of wing defenders in Nembhard, Dort, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Dillon Brooks. Dillon is the oldest among them, but he is still 29 years old. With three more years until the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, that group of players should improve to a point where Canada can surround their MVP with two 3-and-D guys at all times. And they can employ a defensive scheme like the Thunder, forcing turnovers and scoring from fast-breaks. The Thunder used that formula en route to 68 wins and the NBA Finals. Can Canada replicate it to finally stop the USA basketball team from winning the Olympics?
Featured image: © Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
