Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is in the midst of a breakout campaign that has his Oklahoma City Thunder playing much better than most predicted entering the season. But don’t tell that to Toronto Raptors fans who are still holding out hope that the budding Canadian star finds his way home, one way or another.
His latest comments during All-Star Weekend didn’t do much to dissuade those hoping for a homecoming, as SGA confirmed that no other city compares to Toronto when he’s on the road.
SGA on his favorite road city: “Toronto without a doubt.”
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) February 18, 2023
It wasn’t just the shoutout that got Raptors fans excited. Seeing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander show some serious chemistry with Pascal Siakam during the All-Star Game itself also added some fuel to the fire. The Raptors star and Toronto native linked up more than once during the midseason classic, like for this spicy alley-oop off the backboard:
Shai off the glass 'oop to Siakam 🌶#NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/1rzr4sNJlJ
— NBA UK (@NBAUK) February 20, 2023
Raptors fans fed into the narrative with some SGA-Raptors tweets, stemming both from his comments on Toronto as well as his in-sync play with Siakam.
Toronto fans gonna have wet dreams after all the SGA/Siakam connections
— tsan (@nasTszn) February 20, 2023
The SGA to Toronto chatter gaining some momentum during this All Star game 🤣
— Pat 🇭🇹 (@Lo_LifePat) February 20, 2023
OKC fans seeing the Pascal and SGA chemistry pic.twitter.com/yMvnKmXSvx
— Ameer (@AmeerJHamid) February 20, 2023
Pascal Siakam teased some Raptors fans further, whether intentionally or not, by posting a picture of him together with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander during the Canadian National anthem with the flag draped behind them. Man must have known what he was doing, right?
WHY DID SIAKAM POST THIS?? pic.twitter.com/mfdxgIV3Or
— GTJGotNext (@GTJGotNext) February 20, 2023
Given how well Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been playing this season, it’s going to be nearly impossible for Thunder GM Sam Presti to accept any deal that results in his All-Star changing cities. But that won’t completely erase the idea from the minds of optimistic Raptors fans everywhere.