OKLAHOMA CITY (USA) - Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of Canada climbed to the mountain top, capturing his first NBA title in Oklahoma City's 103-91 Game 7 triumph over the Indiana Pacers.
In a wonderful finish to his best season, SGA had 29 points and 12 assists and was named NBA Finals MVP. That honor, along with his first league MVP award and the feat of bring the NBA scoring champion at 32.7 points per game has assured him a place in the pantheon of basketball legends.
Only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan (twice), Shaquille O'Neal and now Gilgeous-Alexander have been league MVP, NBA Finals MVP and scoring champion.
"It’s hard to believe that I’m a part of that group," he said. "It’s hard to fathom that I'm that type of basketball player sometimes. As a kid, you dream. Every kid dreams. But you don’t know if it’s ever going to come true."
> "IT FEELS AMAZING, SO MUCH WEIGHT OFF MY SHOULDERS, SO MUCH STRESS RELIEVED."
Shai
There is so much to admire about Gilgeous-Alexander on the court, including his late-game poise and excellence.
"Coaches worked with me a lot over the past three or four years … those are the minutes, those are the moments, when the best players, the biggest stars, the superstars, the Hall of Fame players make their name," he said.
"I want to have those titles attached to my name. Those moments, those minutes are very important to me. I try to excel in them for sure."
Gilgeous-Alexander was Canada's leader 2023 World Cup and the 2024 Olympics
Steve Nash, who was twice MVP of the FIBA AmeriCup and also the leader of the Canada team that reached the Quarter-Finals of the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, scooped a couple of NBA MVP awards for the regular season in his time with the Phoenix Suns.
SGA has plenty of time to get a second league MVP honor, and more NBA championships. He will also try to help Canada reach new heights, which is something he's already done the past two summers.
The Toronto-born point guard spearheaded Canada's run to the podium at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 in Manila and was named to the All-Star Five after averaging 24.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game. He had three double-doubles along the way, including in the 127-118 Third Place Game triumph over USA when he had 31 points and 12 assists.
Canada's strong performance at the World Cup clinched a spot in the Olympics for the first time since 2000, and SGA worked his magic there as well.
At the Summer Games in France, he averaged 21.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game as Canada made it to the Quarter-Finals before falling to the hosts. SGA had his Olympic-high of 27 points but Les Bleus denied Canada with a 92-73 victory.
With Gilgeous-Alexander, his Thunder teammate Lu Dort and a host of other outstanding talents like RJ Barrett, Dwight Powell, Dillon Brooks, Indiana Pacers duo Andrew Nembhard and Bennedict Mathurin, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Jamal Murray and plenty of other big talents, Canada will be in the running for gold medals in international basketball for the foreseeable future.
Gilgeous-Alexander, who doesn't turn 27 until next July 12, has had an unwavering commitment to the national team the past few years and has helped Canada become one of the most feared teams in FIBA ball.
Canada are on quite a roll when considering that the country has had an NBA champion for four consecutive years.
That was assured of happening even before Game 1 of the Finals since both Indiana and Oklahoma City had a pair of Canada national team players.
Success for Gilegeous-Alexander and Dort means that 12 Canadians have now won an NBA title.
The future in the NBA and with Canada could not be any more promising for SGA, who last year finished runner-up to Nikola Jokic in the league MVP voting. The Thunder reached the play-offs but fell to the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Semi-Finals.
Now he's not only laid claim to the title of best player in the world with his league MVP award, but also taken the Thunder into the promised land.
We now know that the answer is YES:
[](https://www.fiba.basketball/en/news/is-shai-ready-to-lead-the-thunder-to-the-title)
Seattle had won the NBA title in 1979 and since relocating to Oklahoma City in 2008, had had really good teams yet not won the championship, until now.
"It feels amazing," Gilgeous-Alexander said, "so much weight off my shoulders, so much stress relieved."
FIBA