Kentucky gives Old School Salute to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

In more than 120 years of Kentucky basketball, the program has hit seemingly every accolade possible. There was one that eluded the program until this week. That’s no longer the case, thanks to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

During the Western Conference Finals, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander became the first former Kentucky Wildcat to receive the NBA’s top honor, Most Valuable Player.

SGA propelled the Oklahoma City Thunder to the best record in the NBA while leading the league in scoring at 32.7 points per game. He scored 20+ points in 72 consecutive games and averaged 6.4 assists, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.7 steals in 34.2 minutes per contest.

After receiving the top honor in the sport, he sent out a heartfelt thank you to all of his fans, especially his No. 1, his wife. “Thank you for everything. I wouldn’t be the man I am, I wouldn’t be the player I am, I wouldn’t be the father I am, without you.”

SGA dished out the gratitude, while the University of Kentucky sent out the congratulations. The school shared its message to the former point guard and all of his fans by taking a page from an older book. Kentucky bought a full-page ad in the Sunday edition of The Oklahoman, the hometown newspaper of Oklahoma City.

That might be hard to read. Here’s the full message:

In June of 2017, you were a kid from Hamilton, Ontario, arriving to your new home in Lexington. You had a mission and a dream. You brought us an SEC Tournament Championship and countless other memories before continuing your life’s dream to compete with the best of the best in the NBA. We couldn’t be prouder of the man, teammate, player and leader you’ve become. You’ve always been one of one and now you’re not only playing with the best, you are the best. The first Kentucky Wildcat ever to be named NBA MVP. From your Wildcat family and all of Big Blue Nation:

Congratulations, Shai.

Nobody would have thought that mission would ultimately lead him to become the NBA MVP. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is playing in a different stratosphere. They suffered quite a hiccup in game three. A win tomorrow night would send the Thunder on a clear path to the NBA Finals. Oklahoma City has a 2-1 lead ahead of game four, which tips off at 8:30 PM ET tomorrow night on ABC.

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