South Kamloops Product Kelly Olynyk Headed to the NBA Finals

Image Credit - Bill Streicher - Image Images

Kamloops has a reason to tune in this week. Kelly Olynyk, a product of South Kamloops Secondary School, is heading to the NBA Finals with the San Antonio Spurs. The seven-foot big man and his Spurs teammates punched their ticket to the championship round after defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals, setting up a showdown with the New York Knicks beginning Wednesday night in San Antonio.

For Olynyk, it is a moment that traces back to the courts of Kamloops, where his basketball journey began before taking him to Gonzaga University and eventually to a 13-year NBA career. Now 35 years old, the Kamloops-raised centre has another shot at the Larry O'Brien Trophy on the biggest stage the sport has to offer.

He is not the only Kamloops athlete chasing a championship this week. Logan Stankoven and the Carolina Hurricanes open the Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night, giving the city two of its own on two of the biggest stages in professional sport simultaneously.

Game 1 of the NBA Finals tips off Wednesday, June 3 in San Antonio.