Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander celebrates with teammates in the locker room after winning the NBA basketball championship with a Game 7 victory against the Indiana Pacers Sunday, June 22, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is being celebrated by his hometown of Hamilton today.
“Shai Rally Day” is a free, public event that Hamiltonians of all ages can attend, to celebrate Gilgeous-Alexander’s banner year.
The Oklahoma City Thunder star won the NBA championship in June on the heels of a season that also earned him a scoring title and an MVP award.
The rally, that begins at 3:30 p.m. at Hamilton Stadium, will see Mayor Andrea Horwath present Gilgeous-Alexander with the key to the city.
“I’m absolutely thrilled to bring Shai Rally Day to Hamilton,” Horwath said in a media release when the event was first announced last month. “As part of this celebration, I am proud to be presenting Shai with the Key to the City, the first such honour bestowed by a Mayor of Hamilton since 1998. It’s a symbolic gesture of the deep pride and admiration Hamilton holds for one of its own.”
Gilgeous-Alexander, who’s also referred to as SGA by fans, has been around the GTA with the Larry O’Brien trophy this week.
He visited SickKids Hospital on Wednesday and co-hosted a “basketball-themed bingo session” on a show broadcast throughout the building in each patient room.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander visits families during a special visit to SickKids on Aug. 6, 2025. (SickKids/ submitted)
CTV News Toronto and CP24 will have LIVE updates throughout the afternoon as Hamilton celebrates Gilgeous-Alexander.
2 p.m. - Fans already beginning to gather
Fans began showing up to the courtyard of Hamilton Stadium in the early afternoon, many excited that an NBA champion grew up right in their backyards.
“Just knowing he’s from where we’re raised, it’s pretty inspiring that he could come back from not even making it to his high school team, and then making it to the NBA and being one of the best... it’s inspiring,” one young fan told CP24.
“How did you get so good?” another fan said he would ask SGA if he got the chance to meet him. “He’s always calm and composed, and he’s a really good basketball player, and he’s from Hamilton.
“He’s the best basketball player, and he’s my favourite,” said a third.
In last month’s media release, Gilgeous-Alexander said, “Hamilton is the city where I grew up, and it shaped the most pivotal years of my life. It laid the foundation not only for who I am as a basketball player, but for the man I’ve become. I wouldn’t be who I am today without this city, and I’m deeply grateful for the continued love and support.”
Following the rally, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats will take on the BC Lions at 7:30 p.m., where SGA will be honoured a second time during an in-game tribute.