Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Shaivonte Aician Gilgeous-Alexander, also known by his initials SGA, is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Recognized as a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP), he led the Thunder to their first NBA championship since relocating from Seattle to Oklahoma City, earning NBA Finals MVP honors. Over his career, he has earned selection as a four-time NBA All-Star and a four-time All-NBA First Team member.

Gilgeous-Alexander was born on July 12, 1998, in Toronto, Ontario, and raised in nearby Hamilton. His mother, Charmaine Gilgeous, competed in the women's 400 meters for Antigua and Barbuda at the 1992 Summer Olympics. His father, Vaughn Alexander, is also of Antiguan descent and won a Toronto city high school championship in the early 1990s at Georges Vanier Secondary School. His father coached him during his youth.

Gilgeous-Alexander began his high school career at St. Thomas More Catholic Secondary School in Hamilton, where he led the midget squad to a city championship as team MVP after missing the junior team. He then attended Sir Allan MacNab Secondary School before moving to the United States in 2015 to attend Hamilton Heights Christian Academy in Chattanooga, Tennessee, graduating in 2017. In his senior year, he averaged 18.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game.

Rated a four-star recruit, Gilgeous-Alexander committed to the Kentucky Wildcats. In his sole season of college basketball in 2017–18, he transitioned from a reserve role to a starting guard, earning SEC tournament Most Valuable Player honors. He finished his freshman campaign averaging 14.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game across 37 appearances before declaring for the 2018 NBA draft.

Selected 11th overall by the Charlotte Hornets in 2018, Gilgeous-Alexander was traded on draft night to the Los Angeles Clippers. After a rookie season in which he earned a selection to the 2019 Rising Stars Challenge and appeared in the playoffs, he was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in July 2019. During his early years in Oklahoma City, he recorded multiple milestones, including his first triple-double in January 2020 and a 42-point performance in February 2021.

In the 2022–23 season, Gilgeous-Alexander made his first All-Star Game and was named to the All-NBA First Team after averaging 31.4 points per game. He followed this in 2023–24 by finishing second in MVP voting and leading Oklahoma City to the top seed in the Western Conference with 57 wins. During the 2024–25 season, he won his first NBA MVP award while leading the league with 32.7 points per game, subsequently winning the NBA Finals MVP as the Thunder captured the championship. In the 2025–26 season, he won his second league MVP award.

Representing Canada internationally, Gilgeous-Alexander won a bronze medal at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, where he was named to the All-Tournament Team. His performance earned him Canada's Northern Star Award as Athlete of the Year in 2023 and 2025, and he was named the Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year in 2025.