In his annual visit to Toronto, Canada, Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander explained what it meant for him to watch Canadian native RJ Barrett thrive with his hometown team. Shai, who was born in Ontario, says it’s “every Canadian’s dream” to play for their country just like RJ is this season.
“It’s every Canadian’s dream to play at home,” said Shai. “I know for me as a kid, watching Raptors games growing up is how I got attached to basketball. So that feeling must feel surreal, for sure. Every time I see RJ he gets better, the sky is the limit because of that. So I’m just happy for him.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the many international superstars taking over the NBA. The elite scorer and sharpshooter, along with Jamal Murray, Dillon Brooks, and RJ Barrett, are some of the most notable NBA players from Canada and they all played for their country in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Together, they led Team Canada to fifth place in the tournament, the nation’s highest finish since 1984. As the runner-up for MVP last season, Shai was the star of the show for Team Canada and he took pride in playing for his home country with averages of 24.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, 6.4 assists, and 1.6 steals per game.
In the NBA, Shai makes his home (Oklahoma City) far away from Canada but he gets to live through guys like RJ Barrett, who is getting the full hometown hero experience. After being traded by the New York Knicks, Barrett has settled into his new role with averages of 23.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 6.0 assists per game on 45.6% shooting.
Sadly, despite the best efforts of Barrett and Scottie Barnes, the Raptors haven’t been very good this season and it’s clear that they need some massive reinforcements to compete for a title.
Since he’s currently locked into a 5-year, $173 million contract, it’s unlikely that Shai is anywhere but with the Thunder for the foreseeable future. But maybe one day down the road, Shai can sign with the Raptors and join RJ Barrett on his home team.
Together, they could transform the Raptors from bottom-feeders to a truly formidable team in the East. They might even bring the Raptors their first title since the Kawhi Leonard era.
Of course, this is all just wishful thinking for the Raptors. As much as Shai loves and respects his roots, he isn’t going to find a better situation than his current one with the Thunder. As the leader both on and off the court, Gilgeous-Alexander is playing some of the best basketball of his life and it has put the Thunder in a position to make some serious noise in the West.
For now, the young superstar is focused on the mission at hand, which involves leading the Thunder to the depths of the postseason. After their stop in Toronto, Shai and the Thunder will face the New Orleans Pelicans at 7:00 PM EST at Smoothie King Center. On December 10th, the Thunder play their next game in the NBA Emirates Cup, which is against the Dallas Mavericks for the West Quarterfinal at 9:30 PM EST.
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