“His fav pg cooked him 1v1”: Fans revisit Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s high praise for Andrew Nembhard after Pacers go up 1-0 in NBA Finals 

Andrew Nembhard and Indiana Pacers completed a 15-point comeback in the fourth quarter of Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Nembhard led the way for Indiana, scoring eight points in the fourth quarter to give Tyrese Haliburton a chance to make the game-winning jumper. He made it, and the Pacers escaped Game 1 with a 111-110 upset on the road against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The young point guard’s performance in his NBA Finals debut sent fans on a search on social media. Back in the middle of March, Thunder guard and NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander showed some love towards his Team Canada teammate on Instagram, calling him his favorite point guard.

Trending

Fans reacted strongly to Gilgeous-Alexander's comments, taking the opportunity to throw shade at the All-NBA 1st Team guard after Nembhard out-performed him down the stretch of Game 1. The former Florida Gator took the defensive assignment against his fellow Canadian, forcing a miss on a jump shot that would have given the Thunder a three point lead with less than 30 seconds left.

One fan went as far as to say that Gilgeous-Alexander's friend embarrassed him when the two went 1-on-1 during Thursday's game.

🌨️

@NotLikeRuss

He was cooking him a little too comfortably makes sense that they close lmao

BIGMEM12

@BIGMEM12

Dawg I still can’t get it out my head he cooked him

2

@HoodiiShai

Shai we set ourselves up w that one

PayneHoops

@CookedByPayne

And he shoved Nembhard in the game too. This series finna be cinema.

Despite turning the ball over a historic amount in the first half, Nembhard and the Pacers escaped Game 1 with a road win. In order to win Indiana's first championship since joining the NBA in 1976, all they need to do is hold serve at home.

Andrew Nembhard and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander helped make NBA Finals history in Game 1

Both Gilgeous-Alexander and Nembhard played for the Canadian national team in the 2024 Olympics in Paris, France. Team Canada finished in fifth place, losing to Victor Wembanyama and the French national team in the quarterfinals. Both players, along with Thunder guard Luguentz Dort, used the disappointing finish as fuel for this season.

All three players started for their teams in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, the first time in NBA history that three Canadians started a game in the championship round. In fact, there were more Canadians in the starting lineup of the opening game of the NBA Finals than in the Stanley Cup Finals between the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers.

After Nembhard, Haliburton and the Pacers won Game 1, fans are reconsidering just how far the series could go. Heading into the matchup, the Thunder were overwhelming favorites. However, Indiana head coach Rick Carlisle put together yet another comeback, finished off by the fourth game-winning shot by Haliburton in the 2025 postseason.

Gilgeous-Alexander scored 38 points in Game 1. The NBA's MVP will come back in Game 2 looking for some payback against his friend. However, the Pacers enter the second game on the road looking to take a 2-0 lead back to Indiana.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback

About the author

Zachary Howell

Zachary Howell is an NBA and WNBA journalist at Sportskeeda with a degree in Broadcast and Digital Journalism from Syracuse University and over a year of experience in the field.

Being introduced to the digital side of content inspired Zachary to become a writer, and his love of basketball made this an obvious transition.

His favorite team is the OKC Thunder, and Zachary started following them in 2011 when they were on the rise with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden. His favorite basketball players from the past are Tim Duncan, Michael Jordan and Shaquille O'Neal. Those three came to define their eras of basketball and were dominant without beating their chests too much. Zachary is a big fan of quiet greatness and these three players are good embodiments of that.

When not writing or watching sports, Zachary enjoys reading and exercising, as well as gaming. He loves to be outside and spend time with friends and family, including his three dogs.

Know More