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A total of 29 Kentucky men’s basketball products began the season on NBA opening day rosters. A group of 18 reached the NBA playoffs. Now, two are NBA Champions.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Cason Wallace captured the 2025 NBA title on Sunday as the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Indiana Pacers in game seven of the NBA Finals, 103-91. The win marks the first NBA Championship for the Thunder since the franchise moved to Oklahoma City in 2008.
Gilgeous-Alexander, who starred at UK in 2017-18, and Wallace, who spent the 2022-23 season in Lexington, become the 17th and 18th players in Kentucky men’s basketball’s storied history to win NBA Championships. In all, Wildcat players have won a combined 26 NBA Championship rings.
Capping his historic season, Gilgeous-Alexander was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player after averaging 30.3 points, 5.6 assists, 4.6 rebounds, 1.9 steals and 1.6 blocks per game in the final series.
The accolade comes on the heels of the all-star guard becoming the first ever Kentucky men’s basketball product to earn the NBA’s regular-season MVP award, doing so while leading the association in scoring with 32.7 points per game.
Gilgeous-Alexander capped his NBA Finals performance with 29 points and 12 assists for a double-double, while Wallace chipped in with 10 points, three steals and a pair of rebounds. Gilgeous-Alexander became the first guard to post at least 20 points, five rebounds and 10 assists in a game seven of the NBA Finals since Walt Frazier in 1970. The 12 assists were a playoff career high for the Hamilton, Ontario native.
In the playoffs overall, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 29.9 points per game, 6.5 assists and 5.3 rebounds. For his part, Wallace posted 5.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.4 steals per game during the Thunder’s playoff run, scoring in double-figures four times, including 11 points in a game five win for OKC in the Finals.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s legendary season puts him in select company. He becomes just the 11th player all-time to win a championship while claiming both regular season MVP and NBA Finals MVP in the same season, and the first to do so since LeBron James in 2013.
Gilgeous-Alexander also becomes the first player since Stephen Curry in 2014-15 to win the league’s scoring title, earn MVP honors and capture a championship in the same season. Others to achieve this feat include Bob Cousy, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Willis Reed, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan and James.
In Lexington for the 2017-18 season, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 14.4 points and 5.1 assists. He was named the MVP of the Southeastern Conference Tournament, helping the Wildcats to the title with a win over Tennessee in the championship game. That year, Gilgeous-Alexander was an All-SEC Second Team selection and an All-SEC Freshman Team honoree.
Wallace was an All-SEC Freshman Team selection while with Kentucky in 2022-23, averaging 11.7 points, 4.3 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 2.0 steals while starting 32 games. He was named the SEC Freshman of the Week three times throughout the duration of the season and tied the program’s single-game steals record with his eight swipes against Michigan State.
Gilgeous-Alexander Finals stats:
Points – 38, 34, 24, 35, 31, 21, 29
Rebounds – 5, 5, 8, 3, 2, 4, 5
Assists – 3, 8, 4, 0, 10, 2, 12
Steals – 3, 4, 0, 3, 2, 0, 1
Blocks – 0, 1, 3, 1, 4, 0, 2
Wallace Finals stats:
Points – 6, 4, 7, 2, 11, 2, 10
Rebounds – 2, 3, 4, 2, 2, 3, 2
Assists – 1, 1, 1, 2, 0, 0, 0
Steals – 1, 2, 1, 0, 4, 1, 3
Blocks – 1, 1, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0
