Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is starting to make a name for himself as a Canadian legend. The Oklahoma City Thunder star is chasing the likes of Steve Nash and Wayne Gretzky. He is already heading in the right direction after representing the country well in the FIBA World Cup. For this, the young gun was rewarded with an honor that only a handful of Canada's men were considered for.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is this year's Northern Star Award recipient, per the Toronto Star. He became the second basketball player to ever notch the honor under their belt. The first one to do it was Steve Nash and the feat has not been replicated since 2005.

The Thunder superstar has shown great promise in leading the Canadian squad in their basketball pursuits. He led the team to a FIBA World Cup semifinal finish. They also beat Luka Doncic's Slovenian national team in the process. Team Canada may have not gotten the Naismith trophy but there are still a lot of opportunities for him to prove his ability to lead the national team. A shot at basketball immortality still lies ahead of him in the 2024 Olympics and he might just take it come next year.

Regardless, he has proven to be a great competitor for his country on the basketball court. The star of the Thunder system even got to celebrate his new award by honoring Wayne Gretzky.

 

Shai still has a long way to go to chase the Canadian great, who has four Canadian Athlete of the Year honors on his trophy case. But, he has already come so far in bringing honor and pride to Canada.