Where is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander from? Thunder's Canadian MVP adds to list of international winners

Since being traded to Oklahoma City in 2019, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has blossomed from a young guard with clear upside to an annual All-Star that may be on a Hall of Fame track.

On Wednesday, Gilgeous-Alexander was named the NBA's 2024-25 MVP, a reward for his consistent dominance throughout the Thunder's 68-win regular season. The 6-foot-6 guard took his game to new heights this past season, averaging career-highs with 32.7 points and 6.4 assists per game.

Gilgeous-Alexander now joins the NBA's all-time royalty with his MVP award. He's also made some unique history, becoming just the second Canadian-born player to win the Michael Jordan Trophy.

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Here's what to know about Gilgeous-Alexander's Canadian roots and the exclusive lists he joined as an international player to win MVP.

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Where is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander from?

Gilgeous-Alexander was born in 1998 in Toronto, which, at the time, was one of two Canadian cities with an NBA team. He grew up in Hamilton, Ontario, which is around 28 miles southwest of Toronto. 

The Thunder star's father, Vaughn Alexander, also had basketball roots in Toronto, playing high school basketball in the city and winning a Toronto city championship when he played for Georgies Vanier Secondary School in the 1990s.

Vaughn Alexander became a mentor and coach for Shai in his youth. Long before he was drafted to the NBA, he began his high school career at St. Thomas More Catholic Secondary School; however, he began on the school's midget team in ninth grade. On the midget squad, Gilgeous-Alexander won the team's MVP and led the team to a city championship. He later switched to Sir Allan MacNab Secondary School in Canada.

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In 2015, Gilgeous-Alexander took his basketball skills to the U.S. for the first time. He transferred to Hamilton Heights Christian Academy in Chatanooga, Tenn., for his junior and senior years.

The future NBA star told the Lexington Herald-Leader in 2017 that he moved to the United States because he “needed to play better competition" and "before I knew it, it felt like home, and it was an easy process.” He graduated high school in Chattanooga in 2017 after averaging 18.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 4.0 assists as a senior, later committing to Kentucky for college after initially choosing Florida.

Gilgeous-Alexander has also represented Canada on a national stage on various occasions. He played for the Canadian junior national team in the 2016 FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship, helping lead the team to a silver medal while averaging 7.8 points and 5.4 assists per game. Also in 2016, he joined the senior Canadian national team for the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

In 2022, Gilgeous-Alexander agreed to a three-year commitment to represent Canada's national team, and in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, he led the squad to a bronze medal and the right to play in the 2024 Summer Olympics. 

In 2023, Gilgeous-Alexander received the Northern Star Award, which is annually given to Canada's top athlete, and the Lionel Conacher Award for being the Canadian male athlete of the year. In the Paris Olympics in 2024, Gilgeous-Alexander represented Canada once again, and the team reached the quarterfinals before falling to France.

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Canadian NBA MVP winners

With his 2024-25 MVP award, Gilgeous-Alexander joins just one other Canadian player in the MVP club: Steve Nash.

Nash won two MVP awards, going back-to-back for the Suns in 2005 and 2006. In the 2004-05 season, he averaged 15.5 points and 11.5 assists while leading Phoenix to a 62-20 record. Nash barely beat out Shaquille O'Neal to secure the award, which was the first time a Canadian player won MVP.

In 2005-06, Nash pulled it off again. The legendary point guard averaged 18.8 points and 10.5 assists, leading Phoenix to a 54-win regular season. Nash beat out LeBron James and Dirk Nowitzki to secure back-to-back MVP awards.

Now, Gilgeous-Alexander's 2024-25 season goes in the record books as the third time overall that a Canadian player put together an MVP-level season, but he's just the second player to do so alongside Nash. 

International NBA MVP winners

Gilgeous-Alexander also now joins the exclusive list of international-born players to win an NBA MVP award.

There are now eight different international players to win the award, combining for 12 total MVPs. The first player born outside the United States to win an MVP was Hakeem Olajuwon in 1994.

Here's the full list of international NBA MVP winners: