Can Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander win MVP?

It was like an artist signing off his art when basketball star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander clinched victory for Oklahoma City Thunder against the Washington Wizards 121-120 on Thursday 17 November.

The 24-year-old Canadian dropped the coolest step-back three to lift the Thunder from two points down in the dying seconds and with it, cap off an individual career-high 42-point game.

It was an NBA All-Star kind of performance and so received rave reviews. But what also circulated that chatter was just how typical such showings had become from Gilgeous-Alexander.

In three of his last four games the former Kentucky guard has clocked over 36 points giving him a 2022/23 season average of 31.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game.

Not only have his red hot stats highlighted a noticeable transition from star to superstar, but they have also captured the imagination of the league.

The name Gilgeous-Alexander has been thrust into debates surrounding some of the NBA’s top prizes including Most Valuable Player: the kind often reserved for the likes of Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

But what’s more, and perhaps more significantly, is the attention Gilgeous-Alexander is receiving for his impact on the fate of OKC.

Once a franchise pegged for a transition year following the serious injury to 2022 number two draft pick Chet Holmgren before the season start, the Thunder have surprised many.

The team from the west have picked up wins where they were projected to lose as well as flashing some of fine form agains top teams and, at the heart of it all, is SGA.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: Player's Profile

• Name: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (pronounced Shay Gil-juss Al-eck-zan-der)
• Age: 24
• Nationality: Canadian
• Height: 1.98m (six-foot-six)
• Weight: 81kg
• Draft: 2018 Round 1, Pick 11 (CHA)
• Position: Point guard
• College: Kentucky
• Contract: Signed a five-year, $172 million maximum rookie contract extension with Oklahoma City Thunder in 2021
• Instagram: @shai

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's career highlights to now

With a track Olympian for a mother, and a father who coached him basketball in his early days, Gilgeous-Alexander did not have to look far for athletic inspiration growing up in Hamilton, Canada.

The young boy, born six years after his mum Charmaine Gilgeouscompeted in the 400m for Antigua and Barbuda at Barcelona 1992, was always given the backing of his parents to compete even when he was initially underestimated.

In the ninth grade, not much taller than five-foot-six, Gilgeous-Alexander failed to make his school junior team and so played on the school’s U15 team. After ending the season winning the team MVP award as well as the city championship, the Canadian made the decision to transfer to a different secondary school before later moving to a high school in Tennessee, United States, in order to improve his game.

The move proved critical for the late bloomer. After growing 12 inches in four years the young basketball prospect made significant leaps forward aided by a seven-foot-long wingspan which was beginning to be noticed by those on the NBA radar.

Despite initially committing to the University of Florida, Gilgeous-Alexander later announced he would play college basketball at the University of Kentucky (UK).

Rated seventh highest when he arrived on campus, the future Thunder star wasn’t given too much notice as he turned up to play. That, however, soon changed once he was given floor time. In just one season the guard flipped the pre-written script shredding expectations of what he might be capable of.

His versatility as well as his instinct to finish were quickly lauded so much so, that after one year he made the decision to renounce his college eligibility and declare for the 2018 NBA draft.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: An emerging icon on and off the court

When GIlgeous-Alexander went as the number 11 pick to Charlotte on draft night in 2018 social media erupted with a buzz.

In a nod to the occasion the young Canadian wore a champagne-coloured suit adorned with floral patterns, and fans fell in love.

Since that the night, the guard has carefully crafted a reputation for being one of the most stylish players in the league. Not unlike former Thunder superstar Russell Westbrook whose game-day outfits are often seen to be on the cutting edge of fashion, Gilgeous-Alexander has graced several style magazines talking about his own passion for fashion.

He admitted in an interview with GQ Sports that he owns an eye-watering 1,000 t-shirts which all hang in spectrum: “All one thousand are not in my closet for sure. For the most part, like all my fire ones they’re in my closet colour co-ordinated: I go from black, brown to colours and then I'll get to white.”

Stealing headlines for his clothes, as well as his play, Gilgeous-Alexander has become accustomed to the attention, but talk surrounding the basketball player stands to go up yet another level.

The rising NBA star is one of 14 elite basketball players from Canada to have made a three-year commitment to the national team after they missed out on a fifth consecutive Olympics at Tokyo 2020, in 2021.

The strategy, implemented by head coach Nick Nurse, is designed to guarantee a core of top-class talent that might lift Canada to victory at the 2023 FIBA World Cup and the Paris 2024 Games.

Names in the group of 14 include NBA favourites R.J. Barrett, Jamal Murray and Kelly Olynyk.

With so much depth and focus on squad cohesion, the Canadians will pose a genuine threat as the international cycle kicks in to its crescendo in the next couple of years.

But what is perhaps most exciting for fans of the Maple Leaf is that Gilgeous-Alexander's trajectory looks to be running side-by-side with Canada's. 

Already from his limited performances in the 2023 World Cup qualifiers the guard has demonstrated why he might just be the key to unlocking the obvious potential loaded in a golden generation. In just three games he has averaged 26.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists giving him the highest player efficiency rating (27.7) in the Canadian team so far in the qualifying process.

From the heights of the NBA to the crunch of international stage Gilgeous-Alexander is growing into a generational talent and increasingly showcasing why when it comes to MVP talk he certainly should not be discounted.