Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took road less travelled to stardom in NBA Finals

Cliff Brunt · The Associated Press

· Posted: Jun 03, 2025 10:28 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 hours ago

Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Indiana's Tyrese Haliburton weren't expected to ever beryllium starring successful starring roles connected the NBA Finals stage.

Well, astatine slightest not by many.

"It's been a roller coaster," Gilgeous-Alexander, a Hamilton native, said. "I had nights wherever I thought I wasn't bully astatine basketball, had nights wherever I thought I was the champion subordinate successful the satellite earlier I was. It's been ups and downs. My mentality to effort to enactment level done it each truly helped me. Once I figured that out, I truly saw jumps successful my game."

Those jumps person made Gilgeous-Alexander the look of the Oklahoma City Thunder. This, aft helium was chopped from his inferior varsity squad arsenic a ninth grader. He came disconnected the seat for astir of the archetypal 2 months of his freshman play astatine Kentucky, wasn't a top-10 draught prime and was traded from the Los Angeles Clippers aft his rookie year.

Haliburton has travelled a akin roadworthy to NBA stardom.

Now a favourite lad successful the authorities of Indiana, Haliburton didn't get attraction from large assemblage programs until his elder twelvemonth of precocious schoolhouse erstwhile helium led Oshkosh North High School (Wisconsin) to a authorities title. The slender defender was visited schools specified arsenic Ohio and Indiana University-Indianapolis earlier Iowa State offered a scholarship. He wasn't a one-and-done, wasn't a top-10 prime and got traded from Sacramento during his 3rd twelvemonth successful the league.

"This is simply a franchise that took a accidental connected me, saw thing that different radical didn't spot successful me," Haliburton said of the Pacers. "Sometimes I deliberation they saw much successful maine than I saw successful myself."

Haliburton and Gilgeous-Alexander aren't the household names that acquainted to casual hoops fans are accustomed to seeing successful the Finals, similar LeBron James oregon Stephen Curry. But they volition beryllium the engines for their squads erstwhile their teams conscionable successful Game 1 Thursday successful Oklahoma City (8:30 p.m. ET), and for bully reason.

Gilgeous-Alexander is this year's league MVP and Haliburton is simply a two-time all-star and Olympic golden medallist.

Gilgeous-Alexander, the six-foot-six OKC guard, averaged a league-best 32.7 points per crippled successful the regular play to assertion his archetypal scoring title. He has averaged 29.8 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6.9 assists per contention successful the playoffs. That's a agelong mode from his formative days successful Canada, oregon adjacent 4 years agone erstwhile the Thunder were 1 of the worst teams successful the league.

Mixed emotions

Gilgeous-Alexander conscionable seems to ever beryllium focused connected the task astatine hand. He said the ups and downs of the travel flashed done his caput erstwhile helium was named MVP.

"All the moments I got, like, cut, traded, slighted, overlooked," helium said. "But also, each the joy, each the things that my household has comforted maine in, each the beingness lessons. Everything that's turned maine into the antheral and the quality being that I americium today."

Haliburton spent 2 seasons astatine Iowa State and appeared successful precisely 1 postseason game, a 62-59 first-round nonaccomplishment to Ohio State successful the 2019 NCAA Tournament. He entered the NBA draught contempt suffering a season-ending fractured near wrist successful February 2020.

Sacramento made him the 12th wide pick, adjacent with De'Aaron Fox already connected the roster. But Haliburton ne'er made the playoffs successful 2 1/2 seasons with the Kings and their crowded backcourt led to Haliburton's commercialized to Indiana for all-star guardant Domantas Sabonis successful February 2022.

The alteration of scenery didn't alteration his post-season misfortune, astatine slightest not immediately. The Pacers missed the playoffs successful 2022 and again successful 2023 arsenic Haliburton sat retired the last 2 1/2 weeks, costing him his archetypal NBA assists crown.

The breakthrough yet came past season, erstwhile Indiana secured the No. 6 effect successful the East and eliminated Milwaukee and New York earlier getting swept by Boston successful the league finals arsenic the injured Haliburton watched the last 2 games from the bench.

This year, the Pacers person dispatched Milwaukee, Cleveland and New York to scope the Finals. But adjacent with his success, Haliburton has had his detractors. The Athletic published an anonymous subordinate canvass successful April saying helium was the league's astir overrated player.

During the post-season, Haliburton is averaging 18.8 points, 9.8 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game.

"What makes him precise bully is that he's precise confident," Thunder all-star Jalen Williams said. "So, to beryllium capable to play arsenic good arsenic he's been playing done similar a batch of the 'overrated' worldly ... you person to extremity your chapeau to him for that. So, he's conscionable an highly assured individual. And I deliberation that, careless of who you are, makes you dangerous."

It besides makes for an intriguing backcourt matchup aft a mates of winding roads to the NBA Finals.