Getting to know Canadian hoops star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, NBA MVP
Always an underdog, the man known as SGA has risen to the head of the hoops class in short order, reportedly capturing NBA MVP award.
Article content
With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander the betting favourite to be named NBA most valuable player on Wednesday evening, here’s an explainer for the uninitiated of who he is, where he came from and the historic nature of his accomplishments.
BIOGRAPHY
tap here to see other videos from our team.
Getting to know Canadian hoops star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, NBA MVP Back to video
Born July 12, 1998, in Toronto, Gilgeous-Alexander is the son of Charmaine Gilgeous, who competed for Antigua and Barbuda in the women’s 400 metres at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, and Vaughn Alexander, a high school basketball star in Toronto who won a city championship for Georges Vanier Secondary and would go on to coach his son.
CAREER TRAJECTORY
A classic late bloomer who consistently exceeded expectations along the way, Gilgeous-Alexander’s basketball path was far from linear.
He was cut from his Grade 9 junior team at Hamilton’s St. Thomas More, but dominated at the midget level, winning MVP and a championship. He also attended Sir Allan MacNab Secondary in Hamilton before leaving for a school in Tennessee in search of bigger competitive challenges.
He impressed enough to earn a scholarship to Florida as a four-star recruit and was ranked 35th by ESPN in his high school class (cousin Nickeil Alexander-Walker, his opponent in the Western Conference final this year was ranked 21st), but kept generating buzz after attending a Basketball Without Borders camp and was one of the youngest players to ever make Canada’s senior men’s national team in 2016.
That led to a new recruiting war that Kentucky eventually won. Even so, Gilgeous-Alexander initially was considered one of the lesser prospects of the seven Kentucky commits that year (all but two would make the NBA, but Gilgeous-Alexander has clearly become several levels above even the second-best recruit, Dallas big man P.J. Washington).
tap here to see other videos from our team.
Gilgeous-Alexander became the team’s best player, won SEC Tournament MVP and declared for the NBA draft after one season.
Several teams became enamoured by him as he turned heads during the pre-draft process, including the Toronto Raptors, who tried to trade for a late lottery pick to nab him. Ultimately, Gilgeous-Alexander went to the Los Angeles Clippers 11th overall via a trade with Charlotte.
“I think I showed what I can do on the court, that’s why I’m projected as high as I am. I want to try to turn myself into an elite player,” Gilgeous-Alexander told Postmedia in New York the day before the 2018 NBA draft.
“I never really doubted this moment. My whole life I always believed in myself and my abilities, in how hard I worked.
“(I) got a lot better and then went to Kentucky for college and just always worked throughout my career and that’s why I’m here today.”
The Clippers were sold and Gilgeous-Alexander appeared to be a key building block after averaging 10.8 points in his rookie season, along with strong defence.
But Kawhi Leonard wanted to come home and insisted Paul George had to come with him. That meant the Clippers reluctantly including Gilgeous-Alexander in a package to Oklahoma City for George to land Leonard, who was leaving Toronto, title in hand.
The move proved disastrous, even if nobody could have expected what would happen next.
THE RISE
Gilgeous-Alexander, at 21, nearly doubled his scoring average and kept averaging more, from 19, to 23.7, to 24.5 and then to 31.4 in 2022-23, when he became an NBA all-star for the first time, finished fifth in MVP voting, and made the All-NBA first team — the latter two achievements only previously accomplished by one other Canadian, Steve Nash.
By last season, Oklahoma City was an emerging force and finally a playoff threat. Gilgeous-Alexander finished second in MVP voting, averaged 30.1 points and vowed to learn from the team’s previous post-season ouster.
So far in 2024-25, he has emerged as the league’s MVP favourite — while it is not yet official, ESPN reported Wednesday afternoon he has won the honour — after leading all players at 32.7 points per game and driving the Thunder to 68 wins, one of the highest totals in NBA history. The team also is the pick by most to win its first title since the franchise moved from Seattle.
Gilgeous-Alexander signed for five years and just shy of $180 million US in 2021 and it’s expected he will sign a new deal worth more than $300 million as soon as this summer to stay with the Thunder.
“I know what I signed up for when I signed a five-year extension,” Gilgeous-Alexander said after signing his deal coming off a 24-win season. “I don’t think we’re gonna be losing for much longer. I believe in this team.”
He was proven right.
REPRESENTING CANADA
Gilgeous-Alexander always has taken a lot of pride in representing Canada. As the leader of the 2023 World Cup and 2024 Olympic teams, he helped elevate the program to new heights.
Though the Olympic run fell short of a medal thanks to a loss against France after strong earlier play (the same fate that befell Nash and his team at the Olympics in 2000), the summer before, Gilgeous-Alexander had led Canada to a historic bronze medal which was earned by beating the powerhouse United States in the third-place game.
Canada will try to get on the Olympic podium in 2028 in Los Angeles.
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.