Canadian Legend Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

 Short one today, I might come back with a recap of the game tonight considering I am going to it. Which brings me to the reason of the article today: for the first time I will be seeing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander live and I couldn't be more excited! Shai has quickly ascended to one of the best players in the NBA and has an argument for best Canadian basketball player of all time. The Thunder could be the best team in the league when fully healthy and having an MVP candidate in Shai is a big part of that. Today we honour Shai and what he's done for Canadian basketball. 

My entire life, the Canadian men's basketball program has been a joke.  There's always been some Canadians in the league, but nobody at a star level who moved the needle much in international ball. Most programs in Europe had guys who played together for the national team for multiple years, coaches with systems that work in international basketball consistently or high end talent to anchor their teams absent the other aspects. Canada had some guys who you need to respect for always showing up like Corey Joseph and Kelly Olynyk, but at the end of the day, not enough fire power to compete on the international stage. In my life before this year, the Canadian men qualified for 1 Olympics, in 2000 when I was 2 years old. Before that, they hadn't qualified since 1988. Throughout the 2000s, Canada began to produce NBA talent but it absolutely did not translate to success on the international level. 

Enter Shai. In 2018 the Hamilton Ontario native SGA entered the NBA draft as a solid, but not groundbreaking prospect. There were some intriguing skills but ultimately it was thought that he would top out as a decent starter and not much more. The Clippers selected Shai with the 11th overall pick. He played 1 season in LA before they included him in a trade package to OKC to acquire Paul George as a running mate for Kawhi Leonard, sad Raptor noises. In his first year in OKC, Shai began to show more signs of promise playing alongside veteran PG Chris Paul. He increased his points per game output from 10.8 to 19 and showed flashes of off the dribble creation as well as overall impact and ability to play off ball. He started to look like a very intriguing prospect, potentially an all star even. In the next 2 seasons, he really started to look like an all-star. Although he was held out for large portions of these seasons for injuries and tanking by the Thunder, Shai showed that he was one of the more crafty and consistent scorers in the league putting up 24ppg in each of the 2 seasons.  Shai looked like a nice all star level player, but nobody expected what was going to come next. In 2022-2023 Shai averaged 31 points per game on 51% shooting from the field. Insane scoring and efficiency from a guard. He did even better the next season where he would finish as the MVP runner up to Nikola Jokic. Shai wasn't just scoring 30 points per game, he was doing it consistently every single night. Last season he had 30+ points in 51 out of the 75 games he played. That's more 30 point games than Kevin Durant had in his MVP season. Shai was a consistent killer. 

Shai doesn't just score, he does so in one of the most aesthetically pleasing ways out of anyone in the league. Shai is long with wirey strength, he's got a great first step and tight handle, but there's tons of guys in the NBA with those skills and attributes who aren't nearly as special as Shai. What makes Shai great is he can change speeds and directions better than anyone else maybe on the planet. Overreact to his quick first step and Shai will stop on a dime and pull up with a mid range shot that seems to never miss. Don't bite on him slowing down though because Shai is capable of turning the jets back on in an instant to blow right past you to the rim. The essence of Shai's game is you have no idea what he's going to do next. He can finish at the rim in a variety of ways, shoot from anywhere on the floor, he passes out of double teams well and when all else fails he can make a ridiculous shot with his body contorted and a defender in his face.  When the game gets tight, look to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to take over every single time. One of the best, if not the best closer in basketball, Shai had a ridiculous 58% FG% in the clutch last season. The fact of the matter is, if you have Shai on your team in a close game, you have as good a chance of winning as anyone, no matter the opponent. 

Back to team Canada. In the summer of 2023, Canada needed a strong showing in the FIBA World Cup to qualify for the 2024 Olympics. In a year with a historic number of Canadians in the NBA, leading the charge was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Getting guys to show up for team Canada was always a challenge. It's an unpaid excursion that risks injury for your paid venture in the NBA. Having an MVP candidate show up and set the tone led the way for all other Canadians to show up as well. If Shai is doing it, nobody has an excuse. In the tournament Shai was nothing short of awesome. Placed in a difficult group headlined by France, a long time successful program with tons of NBA or former NBA talent, surviving the group stage wasn't going to be easy. In years past, Canada would drop a game against a winnable opponent at this stage putting them behind early. Not with Shai. Canada clearly had the best player in all 3 of the group stage games and for the first time I can remember, they swept the group stage 3-0. In the knockout stage, Canada made it to the quarter finals, clinching their first Olympic berth since 2000. Although they lost to a tough Serbia team in the quarter finals, Canada managed to beat the USA in the third place game to bring home the gold. Shai was instrumental throughout, there was never a game where Shai wasn't the best player. As a fan of team Canada you knew that as long as Shai was out there, you had a shot of winning, he's just that good. While the Olympics ultimately ended in disappointment, Shai has committed and will be a part of the program throughout his prime. We can rest easy as Canadians knowing that more talent is improving every day and we have a potential MVP on our side to lead the way. Shai's play will inspire generations of future Canadians.

So today I get to see the man himself play up close! Shai's impact on the game in Canada will be felt for years. Steve Nash has 2 MVP awards and he probably takes the slight edge as it stands right now for greatest Canadian of all time. But with Shai having a great roster and shot at winning it all this season, Nash' title might not hold for long. I will be an SGA fan for his entire career. He has already cemented himself as a Canadian legend and hero and we've only just gotten started.