After a 121-111 win against the Denver Nuggets, Oklahoma City Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander celebrated fellow Canadian-born player Jamal Murray's first All-Star selection. For many, Murray's All-Star nod is long overdue. After Hall of Fame guard Steve Nash called Gilgeous-Alexander the greatest Canadian NBA player ever, Shai spoke about the growth of Canadian basketball during his postgame media availability.
After scoring a game-high 34 points on 11-of-16 shooting, Gilgeous-Alexander talked about Murray's impressive regular season, thus far.
“Well, well, well-deserving — he's playing amazing this year, first and foremost,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Really good player. He's earned it for sure. Might be a little late, to be honest. Just take what they give you. He deserves this. And for Canada basketball, it's just cool. Growing up, it was like never in a million years. Steve Nash was the only one. He was an anomaly, and it didn't make sense. He was short and not athletic.
“So, it was like, he was, like, yeah, it's flukey. Shows how good Steve was. But, yeah, it's amazing. Just shows the growth of the game. And hats off to those guys like Steve, Andrew Wiggins, Cory Joseph, Tristan Thompsons. The guys that were in the NBA and paved the way for guys like myself, and Jamal. They laid the foundation, and we've been able to run with it. And it's our job to carry it on, and I think we're doing a good job,” Gilgeous-Alexander concluded.
Jamal Murray finished with a double-double (12 points, 12 assists), as did SGA while leading Oklahoma City to victory with 34 points and 13 assists. Gilgeous-Alexander discussed evolving as a Thunder's playmaker after an impressive 34-point, 13-assist performance in Sunday's win against the Nuggets.
Steve Nash calls SGA Canada's greatest NBA player
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Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) controls the ball under pressure from Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray (27) in the fourth quarter at Ball Arena
Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
As a Canadian-born former guard and two-time MVP, NBA on Prime analyst Steve Nash crowned Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as Canada's finest.
Nash labeled Gilgeous-Alexander the best Canadian NBA player ever, he said, during an in-studio game that declared Nash the best to hail from Canada, per NBA on Prime.
Amazon Crew if Steve Nash is the best Canadian of all time
Steve Nash chose SGA. Rest of the crew picked Steve. pic.twitter.com/895q9wo7GR
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) January 31, 2026
Steve Nash was an eight-time All-Star, five-time assist champion, and seven-time All-NBA guard and retired without winning a championship. Nash was part of the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team as one of the best 75 players to ever play in the association.