Former NMSU star Pascal Siakam savoring shot at NBA title

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was asked about Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam this week ahead of their game one matchup in the NBA Finals Thursday.

Kerr responded by saying that Siakam “looks like a young Draymond [Green] to me.”

It’s high praise to be compared to a three-time NBA champion in just your third year in the league, but that’s the case for the former NMSU star.

Siakam was selected late in the first round in 2016 and in less than three full years has blossomed into what most people consider to be the second-best player on an Eastern Conference champion.

So far in the postseason Siakam is averaging 18.7 points per game to go along with 7.0 rebounds per contest.

“I mean, it’s been good, man. I’ve been enjoying every second of it at this stage. And, you know, it’s a fun and exciting moment,” Siakam said Tuesday.

The former Aggie has started all 18 playoff games for Toronto and played heavy minutes so far. He’s been on the court about 36 minutes per game in the playoffs – four minutes longer than he averaged in the regular season.

It’s a far cry from the 18 minutes he averaged one year ago in the playoffs – when he didn’t start a single game out of ten in Toronto’s ill-fated postseason trip that ended in a sweep against the Cavaliers.

As tough as that situation was, having to play a Golden State team looking for its fourth title in five years isn’t going to be a simple task.

“It’s going to take team defense to be able to beat them – not one player or one defender is going to beat them,” said Siakam. “It’s going to be us collectively stopping them.”

However, Golden State will also have to find a way to slow down Siakam – something few could have imagined anyone saying a couple years ago when Siakam struggled to get playing time and LeBron James dominated the Eastern Conference.

“You know, I think I’m learning. It’s just me understanding that it’s the playoffs and teams pay attention to everything you do,” he said. “I think it’s more of a ‘thinking game.'”