There was an interesting celebration in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada on Thursday. The city of Hamilton honoured Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the star point guard of the Oklahoma City Thunder, who had an unbelievable 2024-25 National Basketball Association season as he led the league in points, was the NBA MVP and NBA Finals MVP.
If you were unaware, Gilgeous-Alexander is Canadian. I have had the fortune to write his initial biography for the Canadian Encyclopedia, He was born in Toronto and raised in Hamilton. On Thursday, Gilgeous-Alexander was treated as a king by his hometown. He was presented a key to the city by Hamilton mayor Andrea Horwath, awarded a number two Hamilton Tiger-Cats jersey, and was honoured during the Canadian Football League game on Thursday between the Tiger-Cats and British Columbia Lions.
On Thursday everyone knew that Gilgeous-Alexander was Canadian. However, Gilgeous-Alexander has not always recognized his place of origin in various speeches lately. When he won the NBA Finals MVP Award (otherwise known as the Bill Russell Trophy) in June, he recognized his teammate Jalen Williams, his fans, his family, and “everybody in his corner growing up” but did not mention Canada in an interview with Lisa Salters of ESPN. Then when he won the ESPY award for best male athlete, he thanked the ESPYs, thanked fellow nominees for “amazing seasons,” his entire family, the Thunder organization, and his Thunder teammates. Once again he did not mention Canada or Hamilton. This might be considered as picky criticism, but to Canadians like myself, one mention of Canadian basketball in those speeches could have gone a long way.
