Don’t tell the mad hatter in the White House that Canada’s most eye-popping export is immune to tariff whims, and that this Made-in-Steeltown product puts equivalent U.S. goods — NBA players — to shame.
This would be Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, born around the lake from here, but raised to rip souls on the basketball court in Hamilton, the city he says is “blue collar, family-oriented; a place to work on your craft” — and where, he told The Oklahoman newspaper, “I became a man.”
He continues to honour those roots in words and deeds, flying a dozen Hamilton high school friends and family to San Francisco last month for the NBA all-star game.
Gilgeous-Alexander, or “SGA” as he is also known, has taken his hoops game to new heights this season, regularly mentioned as the favourite to be named the league’s Most Valuable Player.
His Oklahoma City Thunder sit in first place in the Western Conference and he leads the NBA in scoring, averaging 32.6 points per game. Only one other player averages more than 30.
In a recent 19-game stretch, he recorded four 50-plus point games — 50 points being a rarefied single-game bar that one other player has reached this season, but just once.
In NBA history, just 12 players have had four or more 50-plus games in one season, among them legends Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant — Shai’s basketball heroes growing up. He is the first Canadian to accomplish the feat.
He is arguably the NBA’s best player and, some suggest, the greatest athlete to ever come out of Hamilton.
Stephen Curry defends Shai Gilgeous-Alexander during the championship game of the NBA All-Star Game in San Francisco last month.
Scott Strazzante San Francisco Chronicle/Associated Press photo
“You couldn’t guard me,” said Gilgeous-Alexander.
This was not SGA talking trash to an NBA peer, but rather playfully joking around with one of his Hamilton buddies.
It was last summer, while hanging with friends from his MacNab high school days, like he does each off-season.
The friend had chirped that back in the day he could score against Shai in pickup games, prompting the rejoinder.
“You know who had a nice shot back then?” Gilgeous-Alexander continued. “C.G.”
That’s Colin Gonci, his occasional photographer, and fellow fashion maven, who lives on the Mountain and runs an online clothing store.
Gonci took pictures of his friend working out, and at a youth basketball camp in August that Gilgeous-Alexander hosted at MacNab, like he does each year.
“Shai has a lot of new friends but he always makes time for his old Hamilton friends,” said Gonci. “Get together, reminisce, talk about the old days. Lot of banter.”
They watch Gilgeous-Alexander on TV all the time. The Thunder aren’t on nearly as much as the Toronto Raptors, for example, so it means bootlegging an online stream when necessary, especially if they hear he’s having a big scoring night: “If Shai is going off, you’ve got to watch.”
The guys all talk about his impressive year, coming on the heels of other such years — starring for the University of Kentucky, breaking into the NBA with the L.A. Clippers in 2018 before he was notoriously dealt to OKC, where he is now the team’s third-highest scorer of all time.
It’s amazing to take it all in, said Gonci, adding that his friend is likely not surprised.
“He always thought like that, not in a braggadocious way; not ‘hey, I deserve this.’ He just believed in his abilities and that he could compete with the best.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, then 17, in foreground, takes part in a Basketball without Borders Global Camp in 2015 in Toronto.
Bernard Weil photo
In his teens, working out at the Mountain and downtown YMCAs, Gilgeous-Alexander was a tall, lanky kid who hadn’t grown into his body.
That was Nemanja Ilic’s first impression.
Ilic — known as Nem then, and ever since — is Gilgeous-Alexander’s personal trainer. In the off-season he puts him through workouts in Hamilton, and also on the road when travelling.
This will include in Asia this summer, when Shai goes on a tour to promote his first signature shoe — the Converse Shai 001.
Gilgeous-Alexander has spoken of Hamilton’s diversity, and the backgrounds of the two men could not be more different.
Ilic, who went to Westmount high school and is three years older than his famous client, immigrated to Canada as a toddler from Serbia. He played hoops and dreamed of a scholarship to the U.S., working hard on his game, never partying. That dream ended after high school, but ultimately he found his new path as a fitness trainer.
In 2019, he said he “shot his shot” with Gilgeous-Alexander, who was coming off his rookie season. Ilic reached out, one Hamilton guy to another, and made his pitch to train him.
They have been together ever since, working out in the summer in Ilic’s garage, which was converted to a gym, on the Mountain.
He has also worked with other Hamilton professional athletes, like WNBA star Kia Nurse and soccer player Ryan Raposo, but Gilgeous-Alexander, as well as fellow NBAer Nickeil Alexander-Walker — Shai’s cousin — are his prime clients who occupy most of his time.
“Shai had wanted to keep (his off-season training) in Hamilton and it worked out perfectly,” said Ilic. “We have grown together over the last seven years, and our friendship has grown too.”
He said Gilgeous-Alexander takes training seriously, does not drink or party, and never skips a workout.
“Shai is super easy to get along with,” Ilic said. He also noted his friend is focused far more on team success than individual honours.
“We have these conversations, he’s aware that winning is the most important part. And for him it’s not about the money, he really just wants to have that winning legacy and get it done … With the drive he has, the passion, skill and work ethic, everything he showed growing up, and his overall game and how he lives his life, I see special conversations about him 20 years from now.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander working out in the Hamilton Mountain garage gym of personal trainer Nem Ilic (right) in the summer of 2024.
Colin Gonci photo
How high can Gilgeous-Alexander rise? He has yet to win an NBA title. It’s a team game, and while Bryant won five, Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal played with him on three of those. Jordan won six.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s season ended on a down note last year, when OKC was eliminated from the playoffs by Dallas, led by star Luka Doncic. Gilgeous-Alexander made a critical mistake, a bad foul at a critical time late in the game.
“You wish you could take the moment back, but it’s not the way life works,” he said after the game. “You can’t. You have to sit and learn from it and I will definitely learn from it.”
His pattern growing up was exceeding the expectations of others, playing with a chip on his shoulder. He was cut from one of his high school basketball teams. He told the Spec he embraces the “underdog mentality.”
A marquee NBA playoff showdown in the west looms this spring. LeBron James’ Lakers recently traded for Doncic. They sit in second place behind the Thunder. James and Gilgeous-Alexander have something of a quiet rivalry.
OKC still has 19 games to go.
And there is other big news in SGA’s world.
Life is happening: his child is turning one.
Shai’s wife, Hailey, also from Hamilton, gave birth to their son, Ares, last April.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander recently posted a photo of himself and his son, Ares, to his Instagram account.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Instagram photo
The Oklahoman reported that fans were taking note that Ares, in Greek mythology, is the son of Zeus — God of Thunder.
Gilgeous-Alexander responded, telling reporter Joe Mussatto that they simply liked the name, adding: “Sounds cool, though.”
Last summer, his trip north included a special get-together with friends, including the Hamilton guys like C.G., Nem and Moe Harb, the local barber who still flies south to cut Shai’s hair when needed.
They all gathered to celebrate Shai’s birthday.
He turned 27, entering his athletic prime, and a year younger than Jordan when he won his first title.