Shai Gilgeous-Alexander courtside to watch Kentucky beat Canada: "(UK) changed the course of my career"

Even though Shai Gilgeous-Alexander admitted he was cheering for his home country, the Big Blue Nation will happily give him a pass. — especially with the end result favoring the ‘Cats. The former Kentucky point guard turned All-NBA performer sat right next to the Kentucky bench during Thursday night’s win over Team Canada, dapping up current players such as Reed Sheppard after the game was over while exchanging laughs with head coach John Calipari throughout the contest.

Earlier that same day, Gilgeous-Alexander was named to the Canadian senior men’s national team’s 2023 FIBA World Cup training camp roster. He’ll link up with another former ‘Cat who is also from north of the border in Denver Nuggets point guard (and newly-minted NBA champion) Jamal Murray. Those two headline what might be Canada’s most talented roster in program history. All eyes will be focused on the elusive gold medal — something Kentucky will be gunning for later this weekend.

Thursday night felt like a full-circle moment for SGA. Five years removed from his SEC All-Freshman campaign at Kentucky, he returned to his home country to watch the same school that helped mold him into the player he is today. The 25-year-old Ontario native credits his unexpected growth in the NBA to what he learned during his lone season in Lexington.

“(UK) changed the course of my career,” Gilgeous-Alexander told SportsNet sideline reporter Savanna Hamilton. “You had to fight for everything you wanted to get, especially with so much talent around you. And you learned that from day one. It’s so competitive in that gym and you really get better every day. And I found myself getting better every day in that gym and I got to my ultimate goal.”

Shout-out @shaiglalex for stopping by 🤝#LaFamilia x #BBNBA pic.twitter.com/gqSXTj2gNj

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) July 14, 2023

Gilgeous-Alexander is a star in the NBA right now for the Oklahoma City Thunder. He’s coming off a career year that saw him average 31.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game en route to making the All-NBA First-Team. Canadians are hoping he can lead them to its first-ever gold medal victory. OKC fans are hoping even more that he’ll lead the franchise to a playoff appearance in 2023-24.

There’s a lot weighing on the shoulders of the former lottery pick, but he might not be in this position if not for his time at UK.