Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is having one of the best seasons of any player in the NBA, leading his Oklahoma City Thunder to one of the best records in the Western Conference. He also has one of the funniest commercials on television, singing a version of Christina Aguilera's “What a Girl Wants” with his Thunder teammate Chet Holmgren for AT&T. But before he was a NBA All-Star player and actor, Gilgeous-Alexander was a college basketball player at Kentucky. He had one memorable season as a Wildcat, including a deep trip into March Madness.
March Madness for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Gilgeous-Alexander played for John Calipari and the Wildcats during the 2017-18 campaign. He started the year in a supporting role, but soon became one of the team's best players as it made a run to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. The Canadian hooper started 24 of the team's 37 games that season, averaging a little more than 14 points a game.
The forward was on a team filled with future NBA players, which is certainly not unusual at Kentucky. He would team up with fellow freshmen and future NBA players Kevin Knox, PJ Washington, Hamidou Diallo, Nick Richards and Jarred Vanderbilt on that squad. That's a treasure trove of diaper dandies in Lexington, and one of the best casts ever assembled for that team in recent memory.
Despite not starting in all of his team's games, the forward found his stride throughout the course of the year. He poured in 30 points for the team in a game against Vanderbilt, a come-from-behind win for the Wildcats. In that game, Gilgeous-Alexander either scored or assisted on 32 of the team's final 56 points, per the school. That would be one of many come-from-behind wins for the Wildcats that season, including over West Virginia in the Big 12-SEC challenge.
Things got really good for him, though, in the SEC Conference tournament. Gilgeous-Alexander simply went wild in that tourney, averaging 21 points a contest. He also averaged 6.7 rebounds and 5 assists a game in the tournament, while shooting 55 percent from the floor. He poured in 29 points during the SEC championship game, and went on to win Most Valuable Player honors of the SEC Tournament. Kentucky basketball won that championship, defeating Tennessee in the final game.
The Wildcats entered the NCAA Tournament as a no. 5 seed, and Gilgeous-Alexander kept things going. He poured in 19 points in a Round of 64 win for the Wildcats over Davidson. The forward then put in an even better performance in a Round of 32 game, scoring 27 as Kentucky rolled over Buffalo to reach the Sweet 16.
Kentucky basketball saw its season end in that Sweet 16 game, losing to the Kansas State Wildcats 61-58. Gilgeous-Alexander ran out of steam in the game, shooting only 2-for-10 from the floor. He did end up with 15 points, mostly because of an excellent performance from the free throw line. The forward sank 11 of his 12 free throw attempts, but it wasn't enough in the end to help the Wildcats get the win.
Gilgeous-Alexander would end his career at Kentucky scoring 532 points, in that one season. He shot 40 percent from three-point range, and 49 percent from the field overall. He also completed his college career with 153 total rebounds, 189 assists, and 61 steals.
On to the league
Gilgeous-Alexander would decide to leave school after that season, and enter the NBA Draft. He would be selected by Charlotte with the 11th pick of the 2018 NBA Draft. He ended up in Los Angeles for one season, after never playing for Charlotte. He then would come to Oklahoma City, and he hasn't looked back.
This season, Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging nearly 31 points a game. He's making a case he should be the MVP this season. He's shooting 54 percent from the floor, while grabbing about six rebounds a game for the Thunder. The team is first in the Western Conference, with a 49-20 record. The forward has certainly come a long way in the years since he was playing in Lexington.
The Thunder next have a game on Sunday against the Milwaukee Bucks.
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