The Oklahoma City Thunder, after a few years of taking a plunge down the standings, have finally arrived as the league's pre-eminent up-and-coming team, and it's thanks in large part to the continued excellence of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. On Wednesday night, with a chance to improve to 11-4, Gilgeous-Alexander was once again at the top of his game, dropping 40 points and 12 assists in their wire-to-wire victory over the floundering Chicago Bulls.
In doing so, Gilgeous-Alexander was able to etch his name in the history books alongside arguably the greatest Canadian NBA player of all-time in Steve Nash. According to Sportsnet Stats, the Thunder star is only the second Canadian player in NBA history to drop at least 40 points and 10 assists in a single game, joining the Phoenix Suns legend.
Joining Nash in such company is nothing short of a huge feat, especially when taking into account just how high the heights he reached were during his peak. Nash, as one would recall, won two straight MVPs in 2005 and 2006 as he led the Suns to deep playoff runs year after year during the aughts. For Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to be approaching Nash's level is nothing short of a marvel, a godsend for a Thunder team that's rapidly ascending atop the league's totem pole.
For Canadians, seeing a bonafide superstar lead the way for a rapidly ascending nation is such a joy to watch. Team Canada, after all, is coming off a third-place finish in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, their best-ever finish in the competition.
Simply put, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the type of star that will make you want to tune in game after game, and if he continues this trajectory, he may even join Steve Nash in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame when his career is all said and done.
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