Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes his only visit close to home this season firmly on the path to becoming the best Canadian basketball player to ever lace up a pair of sneakers — if he’s not there already.
Only 26 years old, the Hamilton native already has a pair of top 5 NBA MVP finishes under his belt, including second place last season (in the interest of transparency, this corner gave him one of his 15 first-place votes on the official ballot).
If his current play keeps up, Gilgeous-Alexander could well come away with the award this time around (Nikola Jokic again is a deserving choice, but will voters give him a fourth win in five years? Giannis Antetokounmpo also is making a case for his third MVP) and he should make his third all-star appearance and second start.
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Gilgeous-Alexander comes to Toronto to face the Raptors averaging 29.8 points on slightly lesser (but still impressive) shooting numbers than last season. He tops the NBA in win shares, his Oklahoma City Thunder leads the Western Conference at 16-5 and is a trendy pick to win the title.
While Victoria’s Steve Nash might still earn the edge from many as Canada’s top hooper in history, Gilgeous-Alexander already is making it close and would arguably surpass him should he lead his squad to a championship.
Nash never won it all, but did lead Phoenix and Dallas to the conference final four times. Gilgeous-Alexander has only made the playoffs once, last season, losing in the second round against eventual-finalist Dallas after sweeping New Orleans.
If Oklahoma City can even make the NBA Finals, let alone win, Gilgeous-Alexander would be ahead of Nash on that score.
Nash might have two MVP wins to none for Gilgeous-Alexander (plus one second-place finish), but he didn’t make his first of eight all-star and all-NBA appearances until he was older than Gilgeous-Alexander is now.
Gilgeous-Alexander already has two all-NBA first team selections, just one fewer than Nash managed in 18 seasons.
Plus, while Nash is rightly hailed for his stirring work for the Canadian national team, Gilgeous-Alexander arguably has already done more, carrying Canada to a bronze medal, including an upset of Team USA, at the FIBA World Cup in 2023 and was one of the best players at the Olympics in France, Canada’s first Games since the Nash-led team was in Sydney in 2000.
Nash also did strong work in non-Olympic tournaments, but that was his only chance on the biggest international stage, while Gilgeous-Alexander and Canada are seen as legitimate medal contenders for Los Angeles in 2028.
After raising his scoring average for five straight seasons, from 10.8 as a rookie, to 31.4 in 2022-23, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 30.1 last year and is close to topping 30 again, even with a better team around him and despite changing his game again by attempting 6.1 three-pointers a night, double his averages of the past two seasons.
The Thunder picked up excellent veterans Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso, and so far have survived another injury to sophomore star Chet Holmgren. Jalen Williams has taken another step forward to all-star-calibre and is in the conversation as most improved player.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s fellow Canadian, Lu Dort, has also been good and the Thunder boasts great depth.
But it all revolves around Gilgeous-Alexander, even if he remains humble.
Asked at the all-star game last year about comments by former NBA all-star Stephon Marbury that he’s the greatest Canadian ever, Gilgeous-Alexander said that’s not yet the case.
“I appreciate that, but Steve is still ahead of me. I’m going to try to catch him, but he’s still ahead of me,” Gilgeous-Alexander told reporters at the time. If that’s true, the gap continues to close with each passing Gilgeous-Alexander game.
@WolstatSun