In an era when big men dominate the MVP race, there is a guard who continues his competition for MVP. An era in which Luka Doncic is considered the face of the future NBA and the best point guard in existence. Shai Gilgers-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder has emerged as a rival. Now, let's shed light on Gilgers-Alexander, who has emerged as one of the best players in the league.

This article was published in the March issue of Rookie.

a terrible practicing bug from Toronto

Shai Gilzers-Alexander, born in Toronto, Canada in 1998. Since birth, the blood of an athlete has already flowed. His mother was a track and field athlete who competed in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, and Gilzers-Alexander developed his dream of becoming a basketball player from an early age under his father's guidance.

While continuing his school career in high school in Canada, Gilzer-Alexander chose to transfer to a new school for a better competitive environment as a basketball player. After moving to Tennessee in the U.S., Gilzer-Alexander improved his value by averaging 18.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 4.0 assists at the Hamilton Heights Christian Academy.

In the run-up to entering college, Gilles-Alexander received offers from various places. Among them were university powerhouses such as Kentucky and Kansas. After much consideration, his choice was the University of Kentucky.

As the school produces promising players for the NBA Rotary picks every year, Kentucky's competition for the starting lineup was tricky. Although he was already a Gilles heeler who showed off his potential in high school, he started the season as a backup when he first entered the school without being guaranteed the starting lineup.

However, as the season passed by, he took the starting position and gradually expanded his position. At that time, Kentucky had many young guns that P.J. Washington and Kevin Nax were interested in, as well as Gilles and Alexander. Among them, Gilles and Alexander's efforts to become the best player made even his teammates tongue-in-cheek.

P.J. Washington: There were no pillows and blankets in Shai Gilzers-Alexander's room. All he had was clothes and shoes. Gilzers-Alexander was only interested in clothes and his basketball. That's all.
Just watching him grow was happy. He was the hardest-working player I've ever seen. He tried to complete his skills every day, and his efforts were evident on the court. I knew from college that he would be a great NBA player.

Nick Richarz: Gilzer-Alexander didn't get into school as a starting member. But he was someone who didn't care where he was. That was his mindset and led to success.

Gilzer-Alexander, who averaged 14.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 5.1 assists in his freshman season, was also a major resource in the NCAA Tournament, which is called the March Madness, but his team was eliminated in the round of 16. Gilzer-Alexander, who appealed to NBA scouts enough, decided on One and Two and challenged the NBA draft after the freshman season.

his talent for recognizing basketball legends

The 2018 draft, which included Gilders-Alexander, is considered the best golden draft of its time. Gilders-Alexander was selected by Charlotte with the 11th overall pick in the draft, which showed many outstanding talents. However, he never played for Charlotte.

Charlotte immediately made a trade, received Miles Bridges and two second-round picks, and sent him to the Clippers. Jerry West, a basketball legend who had a positive view of Gilles-Alexander, did not spare a compliment. Then, Gilles-Alexander also responded with a positive comment.

Jerry West: SGA (Gilgers-Alexander nickname) is definitely going to be a huge player in the league. He's very young and has an instinct that sets him apart from other players. He can bring a lot of attention to the way he plays.

Shy Gilgers-Alexander: It's pretty cool to be with adviser Jerry West. He's such a symbol of the league that he stays in the NBA logo. And he's giving me some advice and trying to learn as much from him as possible.

At the time, the Clippers were in the process of saying goodbye to Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and De'Andre Jordan's Lapsiti and drawing a new picture. Although there was no star player, the team boasted its formidable potential by mobilizing various players.

Gilgers-Alexander, who has been impressive since the Summer League, has received many opportunities since his first year of debut, even though Debs is a good team. Since then, he has played as a bench member for the first nine games since his NBA debut, but all the remaining games have been listed in the starting lineup due to the coach's adjustment.

He played in 82 games without injury, and started 73 games, posting an average of 10.8 points and 3.3 assists. It was his debut season that showed off his potential.

In particular, his experience in the playoffs was a huge asset for him. Although his team lost, he performed quite well considering that he was a rookie in the first round series against Golden State. His performance as a member of the team in a game with an amazing come-from-behind 31-point gap is also expected to be a foundation for his growth.

As a result, he was recognized for his potential as an offense and defense guard and became the most beloved player by Clippers fans. However, his career in LA did not last long.

It is true that the Clippers' strength was not strong enough to challenge for the championship with cool-headedness. Under owner Steve Ballmer, the team's leaders wanted to challenge for the championship with strong power and took a hot move.

In the summer of 2019, former FA's biggest fish, Kawhi Leonard, was assigned the title contractor and signed with the Clippers. Leonard wanted to add a superstar to lead the team with him, and Paul George was on the Clippers' radar.

For Winnow, it was obvious that promising players and future assets in his team would leave the club. The key is whether he can keep Gilzer-Alexander. The Clippers didn't want to give up Gilzer-Alexander, but Oklahoma City strongly wanted him, and the Clippers, who wanted to focus right away, included him in the trade with tears in their eyes.

Former Clippers coach Doc Rivers recently confessed that he did not want to hand over Gilgers-Alexander to another team and even persuaded Leonard.

Doc Rivers: We knew the potential that SGA had and were expecting him to be a great player later on. It was a pleasure to have Kawhi Leonard and Paul George come to our team, but it was really hard to let SGA go.
I tried to convince Kawhi Leonard that SGA would be a star, but he asked back how long it would take. Leonard tried to use all his influence to get Paul George in, and we held back what we wanted to say.

The early separation from the Clippers was like another motivation for Gilzer-Alexander to grow. Gilzer-Alexander said he did not expect a trade, but he did not resent the Clippers.

SGA: I didn't think the trade would come. But I didn't have the question and the complaint, 'Why did you do it?' It was convincing enough. I just used it to motivate myself to get better and grow into a player like Paul George.

Sam Presti: We think the SGA has a tremendously bright future in the NBA. I'm really proud to have him as a Thunder player and I'm looking forward to the growth potential I have within the game. I'm also excited about what he's like as a human being.

Oklahoma City has given its full support to Gilzer-Alexander, simply thinking that he is the ace of the future. In the first season of the transfer, he earned an average of 33 minutes or more along with taking full-time starting positions, and made a soft landing right at the core of his team by posting an average of 19.0 points, 5.0 points, and 5.9 assists. Oklahoma City also unexpectedly showed its power to advance to the playoffs.

In particular, although he was with Chris Paul for only one season, his accompanying "Point God" had a significant impact on the development of Gilles' heel. He was his mentor both on and off the court.

SGA: Even if I wasn't on the same team, I never broke up with Chris Paul. It was a really strong brotherhood. He was a great team member and a role model for me to follow. We still talked more and got closer beyond basketball.

Chris Paul: The player who has shown the most growth in my career is SGA. It is true that there was a serious bias against SGA. About a week after he was traded to Oklahoma City, I was traded to the same team. The year there was probably the most important and enjoyable year of my career. I was happy to see SGA and see how he took his game to the next level.

Oklahoma City is back to life. SGA at the center

After an unexpected and unexpected season, the Oklahoma City members were scattered. Major players, including the oldest Chris Paul, Danilo Gallinari, Stephen Adams, and Dennis Schroder, left the team in large numbers. Gilzer-Alexander has now become the team's clear ace and has a heavy shoulder.

Oklahoma City's power has weakened significantly since the team started full-fledged rebuilding. The heat at its home stadium, which cheered for its players with strong enthusiasm, has also cooled off little by little.

As the team decided to rebuild the team, the front desk clearly showed its intention to secure future draft picks and nurture promising players. Sometimes, he didn't hesitate to face suspicion of intentional defeat by excluding key players. Gilgeous Alexander only played 90 games during the two seasons under thorough management.

Despite the low rank situation, Gilzer-Alexander continued to grow. He has scored more than 23 points on average for two consecutive years, and has gradually improved as a leader. There were concerns about him, who had ups and downs in his outfield shots, but he appealed to the public the potential to become a team's future.

Of course, since the team is at the bottom of the list, there were many temptations to shake him. There was a story that Gilzer-Alexander was not satisfied with the current team situation and wanted to move by the time it became boring.

However, Gilzer-Alexander's faith in the team remained unwavering. As the team showed no signs of improvement in performance, he drew a perfect line in the interview even when the team's front office was under criticism. The club also did not hesitate to offer him a huge extension and set a clear future course.

SGA: Everything that Sam Presti told me happened and he never lied to me. I will believe in a future where I will play basketball and lead the show by doing my best every day.
I think we're going to be a really good team than others. A lot sooner than later. It's pretty easy for me to think about. I can feel the team growing more and more, and I'm very excited for the future.

Gilzer-Alexander was not wrong in his belief. After running from bottom to bottom for two years, Oklahoma had an impressive second half after overcoming a slump early last season. With the energy of its young players, the team smashed other teams and eventually made it to the play-in tournament. It was the result of Chet Holmgren's injury, which clouded the outlook for the season.
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