Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

• 1. From Hamilton To Chattanooga

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  Shaivonte Aician Gilgeous-Alexander was born on the 12th of July 1998, in Toronto, Ontario. He grew up nearby in the city of Hamilton. His mother, Charmaine Gilgeous, competed in the women's 400 metres for Antigua and Barbuda at the 1992 Summer Olympics. His father, Vaughn Alexander, played high school basketball and won a Toronto city championship while attending Georges Vanier Secondary School in the early 1990s. The family moved to St. Thomas More Catholic Secondary School in Hamilton for his start. He did not make the junior team in ninth grade. Instead he played on the midget squad where he earned team MVP honors. This experience led him to transfer to Sir Allan MacNab Secondary School before relocating to the United States in 2015. He attended Hamilton Heights Christian Academy in Chattanooga, Tennessee for his final two years. "I just thought I needed to play better competition," he said regarding the move. In his senior season there he averaged 18.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game.

• 2. Kentucky And Draft Night

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  Gilgeous-Alexander started the 2017, 18 season with the Kentucky Wildcats as a reserve player. He sat behind freshman point guard Quade Green but still averaged over 30 minutes per game. After a loss to UCLA, he recorded 24 points, five rebounds, and four assists against Louisville on the 29th of December 2017. When he first stepped on the University of Kentucky's campus, Gilgeous-Alexander had long hair. He cut it early in the season which some say started his progression from sixth man to starting point guard. He continued to lead the team for the following two games, scoring 21 points against Georgia and 18 against LSU. The team struggled with a four-game losing streak during the season. He became a starter along with four other freshmen including Hamidou Diallo and Nick Richards. His PPG shot up to 12.9 along with 3.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists. He earned Most Valuable Player honours in the SEC tournament before Kentucky lost to Kansas State in the Sweet 16. His final college basketball moment was a missed three-point attempt at the buzzer. He concluded his freshman season having played 37 games with 24 starts. After the 2017, 18 season, Gilgeous-Alexander declared for the 2018 NBA draft on the 9th of April 2018.

• 3. The Draft And Early Trades

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  Gilgeous-Alexander was selected 11th overall by the Charlotte Hornets in the first round of the 2018 NBA draft on the 21st of June 2018. On draft night he was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for the 12th overall pick Miles Bridges and two future second-round picks. He participated in the 2018 NBA Summer League with the Los Angeles Clippers in Las Vegas. Starting all four of his games he averaged 19.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game while shooting 45.8 percent from the field. This performance made him the first player in Las Vegas Summer League history to average at least 19.0 points, 4.0 assists, and 2.0 steals over a minimum of three appearances. He scored a season-best 24 points in a 131, 127 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on the 17th of December 2018. Eleven days later on January 29, he was selected for the World Team representing Canada in the 2019 Rising Stars Challenge. Gilgeous-Alexander finished his rookie season with an appearance in the 2019 NBA playoffs where the Clippers were eliminated by the Golden State Warriors in six games during the Western Conference First Round.

• 4. Thunder Years And All-Star Rise

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  The Los Angeles Clippers traded Gilgeous-Alexander along with Danilo Gallinari and five first-round draft picks to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for NBA All-Star Paul George on the 10th of July 2019. On October 8, Gilgeous-Alexander made his preseason debut with the Thunder against the Dallas Mavericks recording 24 points and four rebounds in a 119, 104 win. On December 22, he scored a then-career-high 32 points with five assists, three rebounds, and two steals in a 118, 112 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. On the 13th of January 2020, he recorded his first career triple-double with 20 points, 10 assists, and a career-high 20 rebounds in a 117, 104 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. This performance made him the second player after Russell Westbrook to record a 20, 20, 10 statline in the last 30 years. He was named to his first-ever NBA All-Star Game as a reserve guard for the Western Conference on the 2nd of February 2023. He finished fourth in the league in scoring with 31.4 points per game that season. He became the youngest guard in NBA history to average 30 points on 50 percent from the field.

• 5. The Historic MVP Campaign

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  On the 11th of November 2024, Gilgeous-Alexander scored a then-career-high 45 points along with three rebounds, nine assists, five steals and two blocks in a 134, 128 win over his former team the Los Angeles Clippers. During the month of December he led the Thunder to a 12, 1 record while averaging an NBA-best 33.3 points on 56.3 percent from the field. He captured Player of the Month honours in back-to-back months for November and December. On the 22nd of January 2025, he recorded a career-high 54 points, eight rebounds, five assists, three steals, and two blocks in a 123, 114 win over the Utah Jazz. He also became just the 12th player in NBA history to achieve four or more games with at least 50 points in a single season. Gilgeous-Alexander finished the regular season as the first Canadian to lead the NBA in scoring. His streak of 72 consecutive games scoring at least 20 points became the longest such streak since the 1960s following Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson. He was named the NBA Most Valuable Player for the 2024, 25 NBA season becoming just the second Canadian to win the award.

• 6. Championship Glory And Finals MVP

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  In Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals, Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 38 points in a narrow 111, 110 loss to the Indiana Pacers. His 38 points marked the third-most scored in an NBA Finals debut behind only Allen Iverson's 48 points in 2001 and George Mikan's 42 points in 1949. In Game 2 he followed up with 34 points in a 123, 107 victory over the Pacers. The Thunder defeated the Pacers 103, 91 in Game 7 to win the series 4, 3. Gilgeous-Alexander was named NBA Finals MVP becoming the first Canadian to earn the honor. He became the fourth player in NBA history after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, and Shaquille O'Neal to achieve the distinction of winning the MVP award, Finals MVP award, and scoring title all in the same season. During the playoffs he recorded his 10th 30-point, five-assist statline making him one of only three players in NBA history to accomplish this feat at least 10 times in a single playoff run.

• 7. National Team And Global Impact

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  Gilgeous-Alexander represented the Canada men's junior national basketball team at the 2016 FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship in Valdivia, Chile. He played in all five games of the tournament averaging 7.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game while shooting 39.4 percent from the field. The team won the silver medal following a 99, 84 loss to the United States in the final. At the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, Gilgeous-Alexander was the central figure on the Canadian roster leading them on a historic deep run. They qualified to the quarter-finals of the tournament on September 3 securing a berth at the 2024 Summer Olympics. The team ultimately won the bronze medal after defeating the United States in the third-place game. This was Canada's first ever World Cup medal and first medal at a major global tournament since the 1936 Summer Olympics. In recognition of his individual play he was named to the All-Tournament Team.