In the summer of 2016, a lanky 17-year-old from Hamilton, Ontario, was a surprising late addition to Canada’s senior men’s national team roster.
Cut from Canada’s junior national teams just a few years earlier, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wasn’t expected to be part of the squad vying for a final Olympic berth at the last-chance qualifying tournament in Manila, Philippines. However, then-general manager Steve Nash, along with head coach Jay Triano and assistant coaches David Smart, Scott Morrison, and Nathaniel Mitchell, saw something few others did and extended an opportunity.
Nine years later, that teenager—once overlooked, now unstoppable—has reached the pinnacle of basketball. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been named the 2024–25 NBA Most Valuable Player, becoming just the second Canadian to capture the league’s highest individual honour. The only other? Steve Nash.
It’s a full-circle moment. Nash, who helped open doors for a generation of Canadians, was instrumental in giving Gilgeous-Alexander his first taste of elite international basketball. Now, two decades after Nash won back-to-back MVPs in 2005 and 2006, Gilgeous-Alexander has joined him in the most exclusive club in Canadian hoops history.
“This is a very special moment for me. I genuinely get super excited to see his success,” Nash said during a media call with NBA Canada. “Shai has had an incredible, historic year. He’s not only playing at an elite level statistically, he’s also the leader of a very, very healthy, successful team.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 2024-25 NBA MVP
The connection runs deeper than shared hardware. Gilgeous-Alexander credits Nash with paving the way for Canadian basketball dreams. “He set the foundation. He was the first Canadian basketball player I knew of and, without seeing guys go to the NBA from Canada, it wouldn’t have been as much of a dream as it was for us as kids growing up,” Gilgeous-Alexander said Wednesday in Oklahoma City.
At just 26, Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t merely win the MVP—he left no doubt. The Oklahoma City Thunder guard led the NBA in scoring with 32.7 points per game, registering at least 20 points in 75 of 76 appearances and finishing the season on a 72-game streak—the second-longest single-season run in league history, trailing only Wilt Chamberlain’s 80-game stretch in 1963–64.
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He also topped the NBA in total points (2,484), made free throws (601), and 30-point games. His offensive brilliance was matched by ruthless efficiency: 51.9 percent shooting from the field, 37.5 percent from three, and 89.8 percent at the line. He drained a career-high 163 three-pointers, 68 more than his previous best, and scored 2,099 of his total points through just the first three quarters of games—a total that would have still ranked second overall.
Perhaps most impressively, Gilgeous-Alexander joined Michael Jordan as the only players in NBA history to average 32 or more points and six or more assists per game while shooting at least 50 percent from the floor. Jordan did it twice, in 1988–89 and 1989–90. Gilgeous-Alexander did it while guiding the Thunder to a league-best 68 wins.
His defence also set him apart. He was the only qualifying player to average at least 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. Oklahoma City, long considered a rebuilding franchise, finished with the NBA’s top-rated defence and outscored opponents by a record 12.9 points per game.
The MVP voting wasn’t close. Gilgeous-Alexander received 71 first-place votes and 29 second-place selections from a 100-member global media panel, amassing 913 total points. Denver’s Nikola Jokić finished second with 787, followed by Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo at 470.
For Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault, who has guided the team from rebuild to contender, the moment was deeply personal. “I’m just sitting there watching him, like, man, I remember when he was scrawny, and was on his first contract. In the bubble. And now this guy’s a man. He’s a father. He’s a husband, a leader,” Daigneault reflected.
He’s the third player in Thunder history to win MVP, joining Kevin Durant (2014) and Russell Westbrook (2017), and the first University of Kentucky alum to do so. His résumé now includes three All-Star selections (two as a starter), three All-NBA First Team nods, a scoring title, and the game’s most prestigious individual award.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s rise has mirrored the growth of basketball in Canada. Where once Nash stood alone, Gilgeous-Alexander now represents a new generation—one that is no longer chasing legitimacy, but demanding respect.
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Hamilton celebrated its hometown hero with a mural and commemorative banner at Sir Allan MacNab Secondary School. Toronto featured a downtown billboard honouring his MVP campaign. Oklahoma City declared May 22, 2025, “Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Day.”
“He’s just having an unbelievable impact on his team and the league… The numbers are almost unfathomable,” said Nash. “I genuinely get super excited to see his success and really probably my favourite player to watch. What’s not to like?”
From being cut as a teenager to conquering the NBA, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has authored one of the most compelling stories in basketball. And with the Thunder now championship contenders, it’s clear this is just the beginning.
