Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s father, Vaughn Alexander, recently sat down for an episode of the No Flukes Podcast with Tyrone Maxey, the father of the 76ers star Tyrese Maxey, to discuss several aspects of what it is like to be a father of an NBA player.
While talking about Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s future, his father sounded confident that he has earned his name in the Thunder’s history books and revealed his hopes that his son would never leave the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“And this is what I’m trying to do. Just make them a little bit better than me and just get better every day,” said Vaughn while elaborating on the context of the importance of finding the right life partner.
“Meaning that when I say that mean like you got your wife, you got your kids, you got your family, you’re settled down. You’re not in the club at nighttime. You know, you’re just hooping, bro. You’re just straight hooping.”
“So, people ask like, ‘What does Shai do in OKC?’ And how does he like it there? He loves it because all Shai wants to do is hoop. Ain’t nothing else to do in OKC. All Shai wants to do is hoop. It’s a perfect fit. Do you get what I’m trying to say?”
“As opposed to like being somewhere, you know, there’s nightlife this that or in Toronto where everybody’s going to be on your a– saying, “Yo, give me tickets, give me this, this.”
“Shai’s perfect where he is in OKC. I don’t think he’ll ever leave unless politics or something happens, how the NBA works. But when they ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” Vaughn concluded.
In usual situations, players like to end their career where they began. Gilgeous-Alexander was drafted by the Hornets and traded on draft night to the Clippers before eventually being traded to the Thunder. But one would anticipate that the Toronto native could eventually want to go back and play for the franchise from his city, the Raptors.
But his father anticipates that if Gilgeous-Alexander were to be traded to a bigger market, he would get distracted by the nightlife. And if he heads to Toronto, his family and known associates would swarm him, expecting free things like tickets.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has already agreed to a four-year, $285 million contract extension with the Thunder, which will begin in 2027–2028. Because of his MVP status, he is eligible for a supermax, which could increase the total value to $364 million. This makes it a very hard-to-trade contract and keeps Gilgeous-Alexander in Oklahoma City until 2030 at least (2030-31 is a player option).
It sounds like a father’s hope to say, “I don’t think he’ll ever leave,” and not a verified fact per se. Before basketball took the family elsewhere, Vaughn raised Shai for the first eleven years of his life in Toronto, where he also played high school ball and founded the nonprofit organization, the No Flukes Foundation.
Moreover, in 2024-25, Gilgeous-Alexander played against his cousin, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, in the Western Conference Finals. So Vaughn has also experienced a glimpse of what it would be like if their entire family wants to watch every game, assuming Gilgeous-Alexander wants to head to the Raptors someday.
Hence, staying away from nightlife and steering clear of people in their family who will expect free things from them, like tickets, are the two key reasons why Vaughn Alexander essentially hopes that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander never leaves the Oklahoma City Thunder.
But it remains to be seen if Gilgeous-Alexander wants to retire wearing this same jersey for the rest of his career.
