I wanted to be 6-foot-8 pastor but became $185m NBA champion from Africa who can win shock Finals again
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has a brilliant back story ready-made for the NBA Finals.
The same can be said for Tyrese Haliburton, Jalen Williams and Alex Caruso.
But among everyone wearing Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers jerseys, no one tops Pascal Siakam when it comes to the unbelievable.
“I was telling this story so much over the last two weeks to people that don’t know Pascal’s story,” NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum said.
“Pascal was headed to pastoral school. He was going to study to be a pastor. I think he would have been the first (6-8) pastor in the world.”
As Game 1 approaches between the Thunder and Pacers, Siakam is a three-time All-Star, two-time All-NBA selection, and was awarded the NBA’s Most Improved Player award for the 2018-19 season.
He’s also earned $185 million in nine seasons, and the Cameroon native won a world championship in 2018-19 with Kawhi Leonard and the Toronto Raptors.
On Thursday, the 31-year-old forward was four wins away from his second NBA Finals trophy, while starring for a small-market team that was never supposed to make it this far.
“Pascal’s an NBA champion,” Tatum said.
“He won that championship. He is a tough competitor. He loves being on this big stage — you can see that.”
