Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Shaivonte Aician "Shai" Gilgeous-Alexander (/ˈʃeɪ ˈɡɪldʒəs/ SHAY GHIL-jəs; born July 12, 1998), also known by his initials SGA, is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a three-time NBA All-Star, a three-time All-NBA First Team member, and was named the NBA Most Valuable Player for the 2024–25 season. During that season, he also led the Thunder to their first championship since relocating from Seattle to Oklahoma City, becoming the 11th Canadian to win an NBA title.

Gilgeous-Alexander played one season of college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats and was selected 11th overall by the Charlotte Hornets in the 2018 NBA draft before being traded to the Los Angeles Clippers that same night. In his rookie year, he was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team and was later traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in July 2019.

In his first year with the Thunder, he was their leading scorer and helped the team make the playoffs as the fifth seed. After dealing with injuries over the next two seasons, Gilgeous-Alexander was named to his first NBA All-Star Game and was voted to the All-NBA First Team in 2023, finishing fourth in the league in scoring with 31.4 points per game. In the 2024–25 season, he led the league in scoring with 32.7 points per game, won the NBA MVP award, and earned Finals MVP en route to winning the 2025 NBA Finals. He became the fourth player in NBA history to win the MVP, Finals MVP, and a scoring title all in the same season. Additionally, he became the second Canadian to win the MVP award, following Steve Nash, who first claimed it in back-to-back seasons in 2005 and 2006, and the first Canadian ever to win the Finals MVP.

With the Canada men's national basketball team, Gilgeous-Alexander won the bronze medal at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup and was named to the All-Tournament Team. In 2023, he received the Northern Star Award as Canada's Athlete of the Year, becoming only the second basketball player to earn the award since Steve Nash first won it in 2005.

Gilgeous-Alexander was born on July 12, 1998, in Toronto, Ontario, and grew up in nearby Hamilton. His mother, Charmaine Gilgeous, is a former professional track athlete who competed in the women's 400 metres for Antigua and Barbuda at the 1992 Summer Olympics. His father, Vaughn Alexander, also of Antiguan descent, played high school basketball and won a Toronto city championship while attending Georges Vanier Secondary School in the early 1990s. Gilgeous-Alexander's father coached him during his youth. He began high school in Hamilton at St. Thomas More Catholic Secondary School before transferring to Sir Allan MacNab Secondary School. He later moved to the United States and attended Hamilton Heights Christian Academy in Chattanooga, Tennessee, for his junior and senior years to improve his basketball skills, graduating in 2017.

Growing up in Hamilton, he did not make the St. Thomas More junior team in grade 9 and subsequently played on the school's midget squad. He ended up winning team MVP and leading St. Thomas More to the midget boys' city championship. He then attended Sir Allan MacNab Secondary School before heading to Hamilton Heights Christian Academy in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 2015. "I just thought I needed to play better competition ...," he said. As a senior, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 18.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists.

In early 2016, he participated in the Basketball Without Borders camp.

Rated a four-star recruit by ESPN, Gilgeous-Alexander originally committed to Florida, but re-opened his recruitment in October 2016. His final five schools were Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse, Texas, and UNLV. The following month, he announced his decision to play college basketball at Kentucky. He was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Kentucky Derby Classic. At the 2017 Nike Hoop Summit, he represented the World Select Team and scored eleven points in 21 minutes of action.