Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is pretty clearly at present having the best-ever NBA season by a Canadian, yet he insists he’s not yet fair and square of Steve Nash.
Gilgeous-Alexander, who is at present a co-favorite for MVP with Nikola Jokic, had a strong all-star performance last end of the week in his second appearance and first start. The Hamilton native had 31 points and six assists, hitting 7-of-10 three-point attempts in 27 minutes.
He was second on the West in scoring a year after dropping nine points and seven assists in 10 minutes in his all-star debut.
“I’ve said so many times you dream about it as a youngster. At the point when you arrive, you think you’re ready for it, yet you’re not,” Gilgeous-Alexander told reporters in Indianapolis of the entire experience.
Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 31.1 points, 6.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds and a NBA-leading 2.2 steals per game for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
His play has pushed the Roar to second in the Western Meeting and the third-best record in the league as the NBA resumes for the final third of the season.
Gilgeous-Alexander was also dominant in 2022-23, yet the Thunder missed the playoffs. This year has been another step forward and many have argued the previous Kentucky guard — who just drove Canada to a historic bronze medal at the FIBA World Cup and its first Olympic compartment since the Nash-drove team in 2000 in Sydney — has now surpassed Nash.
In any case, Gilgeous-Alexander remains humble. Previous NBA star Stephon Marbury as of late called him the best Canadian basketball player ever, however Nash won a pair of MVP awards, and Gilgeous-Alexander said he’s not there yet.
“I appreciate that, yet Steve is still ahead of me. I’m going to attempt to catch him, yet he’s still ahead of me,” he told reporters.
Maybe in terms of overall career, yet Gilgeous-Alexander is having a preferable season and year over Nash at any point had, especially when his tip top defense is factored in.
Gilgeous-Alexander also said Canada Basketball is “on the rise” and added “the nation means the world to me. It gave me an open door. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here. So fortunate to be from that point.
“Kids all over the world just don’t get the open door because of where they’re conceived. I don’t take that for granted. To kind of have the flag on my back, it’s a special feeling.”