The 2025 NBA Finals between the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder tip off on Thursday night (8:30 p.m. on ABC), and the state of South Carolina will have some representation on both sides.
The Pacers and the Thunder both have players with South Carolina connections on their rosters.
The Pacers hold the strongest tie to the Palmetto State of the two teams fighting for an NBA title. Small forward Aaron Nesmith is from Charleston and attended Porter-Gaud, where he won three state championships with the Cyclones.
Nesmith played college ball at Vanderbilt before being drafted by the Boston Celtics in 2020. This is his second appearance in the NBA Finals and first with the Pacers. Nesmith reached the championship series with the Celtics in 2022. He averaged 3.2 minutes and 1.4 points in the series, and Boston ultimately lost to Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors.
Nesmith is now in Year Three with the Indiana Pacers and is beginning to blossom at the pro level. He’s averaging 12 points per game and is shooting a career-high 43.1% from 3-point range this season. His numbers in the postseason have continued to rise. In 16 games this playoffs, he’s averaging 14 points per game and is shooting 50% from beyond the arc. His 30-point performance in game one of the Eastern Conference Finals against the New York Knicks was a career-high.
Nesmith is joined by two other players in the NBA Finals with a connection to South Carolina. The Thunder have two such players in Dillon Jones and two-way player Adam Flagler on their roster. Jones is from Columbia and played at Keenan High and Flagler played at Presbyterian College for a season.
In the last five NBA Finals (including this year) there have been seven players with some sort of connection to South Carolina. Here’s the full list:
SC connections in the last five NBA Finals
2025: Aaron Nesmith (Indiana Pacers). From Charleston and attended Porter-Gaud School. Dillon Jones and Adam Flagler (Oklahoma City Thunder). Jones is from Columbia and attended Keenan High for three years. Flagler, who is on a two-way deal with OKC, played at Presbyterian College for one season.
2024: AJ Lawson (Dallas Mavericks). Played collegiality at South Carolina. Olivier-Maxence Prosper (Dallas Mavericks). Played one season at Clemson.
2023: None
2022: Aaron Nesmith (Boston Celtics).
2021: Khris Middleton (Milwaukee Bucks). From Charleston and attended Porter-Gaud School. Torrey Craig (Phoenix Suns). Craig played for both the Bucks and the Suns that season. He is from Great Falls and played collegiality at USC Upstate.
No matter who wins the NBA Finals this year the a player with a connection to South Carolina will come out on top.
The last time that happened was in 2021 when Khris Middleton won an NBA title with the Milwaukee Bucks. In all, 12 players who are either from South Carolina, attended high school in South Carolina or played college basketball at South Carolina have won a NBA championship, according to various lists on Sports-Reference.com.
Here’s the full list:
NBA Champions with SC connections
2021: Khris Middleton (Milwaukee Bucks). From Charleston and attended Porter-Gaud School.
2019: Jordan Lloyd (Toronto Raptors). Played college ball at Furman.
2013: Ray Allen (Miami Heat). Played at Hillcrest High.
2010: Josh Powell (Los Angeles Lakers). From Charleston.
2009: Josh Powell (Los Angeles Lakers)
2008: Kevin Garnett & Ray Allen (Boston Celtics). Garnett is from Greenville and played at Mauldin High before moving to Chicago.
2004: Elden Campbell (Detroit Pistons). Played college ball at Clemson.
2001: Horace Grant (Los Angeles Lakers). Played college ball at Clemson.
1995: Pete Chilcutt (Houston Rockets). From Sumter.
1993: Horace Grant (Chicago Bulls)
1992: Horace Grant (Chicago Bulls)
1991: Horace Grant (Chicago Bulls)
1978: Tom Henderson (Washington Bullets). From Newberry
1976: Tom Boswell (Boston Celtics). Played college ball at S.C. State and South Carolina.
1975: Clifford Ray (Golden State Warriors). From Union and played preps at Sims High.
1973: Dean Meminger (New York Knicks). From Walterboro.