Canada's Very Own MVP

 Quick Friday one! I rarely write these on a Friday but it occurred to me that I didn't even celebrate a Canadian player, and my personal favorite player, winning MVP this week! I've written countless times about SGA on this blog so there's no need to drag this thing out, but we do need to take a moment to recognize a legend in his prime. 

On Tuesday night, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's OKC Thunder defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves convincingly to take a 1-0 series lead. In the first half, Shai struggled, I spoke about it on Wednesday, Jaden McDaniels really gave him trouble. Being the elite shot-maker that he is, Shai wasn't phased. The second half came and the Shai we came to know in the regular season arrived, hitting tough jumpers in the mid range, getting to the rim and contorting his body for tough finishes and even stepping back for 3 when the moment called for it. Shai finished the game with 31 points, good for his 8th 30 point game in this post season alone. When I logged into my social media in the morning, all I saw was post after post of SGA hate. People calling him a foul baiter, "unwatchable basketball" most were saying. There were screenshots posted of still images with Shai mid flop, people reimagining the NBA logo as a silhouette of Shai flopping, it was national hate Shai day across America and it made me sad. That's the thing though, when you get to the top of the mountain, the haters are going to come from every direction to try and knock you down. On the court Shai is a killer. He scores primarily in a throwback way, changing speeds and directions and stopping on a dime for his mid range shot which is absolute butter. He gives his all on defense and is frequently amongst the steals leader. He's a great teammate and knows when it's his time to takeover vs when it's time to let his teammates shine. There's never been a player who came out saying they hate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, he plays the game the right way and just wants to win. Off the court, Shai has no scandals. He has a wife and a kid who he shouted out in his MVP acceptance speech, he bought his entire team Rolexes to thank them for their contributions to his MVP season and you've never heard a peep about him partying too hard, even when he deserves to. When there's nothing else you can hate about the guy, fans started reaching for the 1 thing they had, he gets to the free throw line a lot.

What great scorer doesn't shoot free throws? Jalen Brunson, widely regarded as a fan favorite in the NBA, jerks his massive head back on every drive attempting to draw fouls, I rarely hear criticism for him. Nikola Jokic is Reddit's favorite player of all time, he's a 7 foot 300 lbs man who falls to the floor at the slightest contact at times and nobody ever calls him out for it. It's a part of the game that the great ones master, whether the fans like to see it or not, you need it if you want to help your team win. Shai responded like an MVP needs to respond last night. He came out of the gates firing, taking mostly contested and tough mid range jumpers and knocking them down. He was unguardable, even by the best defenders the Timberwolves have to offer, so much so that it prompted Jaden McDaniels to shove Shai out of frustration leading to a flagrant 1 foul. The Wolves played more physical with Shai, making him earn his free throws more than they did in game 1. This of course lead to him getting to the free throw line 15 times, each of which the fans loudly chanted MVP, MVP, MVP. He finished with 38 points, a victory in game 2, and a new trophy to take home to Hamilton. This moment, while Shai is at his peak, people are going to hate and it's going to be loud and annoying. When it's all said and done though, people will look back and remember Shai as one of the all time greats. If he finishes the deal here and brings home a Championship, he will have cemented himself as the greatest Canadian to ever play this game, and at 26 he's got a lot left to offer. No matter what they say about you Shai, they can't make me hate you. Take this one home and become the first scoring title winner to win a championship since Shaq in 2000. Canada's got your back!

And that's that, just a little bit of love for Shai after he demolished the Timberwovles in game 2. I have been talking a lot of trash about the Wolves for sure, but seriously this is a 68 win team vs a 49 win team, it's how these things are supposed to go. Congrats to Shai on the MVP, for the first time since Steve Nash Canada can claim to have the best player in basketball.