Like everybody who was young and a basketball aficionado, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander called his shot. His improbable journey to NBA superstardom reached its first step roughly a decade ago. Once a slow jog, it’s accelerated to a rapid pace over the last four years.
Netflix lucked out with Gilgeous-Alexander. He was the top billing name of their ‘Starting 5’ second season. Camera crews followed him day-to-day throughout the 2024-25 season as he made NBA history by accomplishing every achievement you can think of.
Gilgeous-Alexander led the Oklahoma City Thunder to an NBA championship. He did so in historic fashion. Along the way to claim the Larry O’Brien trophy, he won the MVP award, NBA Finals MVP award, scoring title and more. He became synonymous with the league’s best players.
If you asked Gilgeous-Alexander’s circle, some were surprised by his MyCareer storybook arc. Just a decade ago, his eventual wife, Hailey Summers, treated his ambitions as just your average high school kid’s pie-in-the-sky dream scenario.
Netflix visited Gilgeous-Alexander’s childhood. One part of the ‘Starting 5’ documentary that stood out was an early date he went on with Summers when they were still high school sweethearts. Both basketball fanatics, he brainstormed the idea to take her to a Toronto Raptors home game, which is about an hour and a half drive from their hometown, Hamilton.
Summers recalled that date and how Gilgeous-Alexander promised her they’d eventually go from being in the nosebleed seats to warming up on the court.
“I remember going to a Raptors game a long time ago and we were in the nosebleeds. He didn’t say we were. We definitely were,” Summers said. “We were super high up. He said, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll be playing here one day, I’ll be in the NBA.’ I was like, ‘Yeah… Mm-hmm OK.’ Every boy’s dream.”
In Summers’ defense, Gilgeous-Alexander carved out an unlikely pathway. He went to Kentucky for a sole season before being drafted by the LA Clippers with the No. 11 pick of the 2018 NBA draft. In that range, you hope to get a solid role player. Maybe a starter. The biggest optimist could’ve seen a couple of All-Star appearances in his future if everything had broken right.
Instead, Gilgeous-Alexander shattered that glass ceiling. A jetpack strapped onto him, he turned from a nice development prospect to an MVP winner within just three seasons. A consistent 30-point scorer turned OKC from a rebuild to an NBA champion.
Summers has had a front-row seat to Gilgeous-Alexander’s basketball rise. So it was cool to hear her perspective on how quickly their lives changed just over the past decade. Fans were able to see their relationship dynamics on the Netflix show.
Hailey Summers on Shai before the NBA:
I remember going to a Raptors game a long time ago and we were in the nosebleeds, and he [SGA] said “don’t worry, I’ll be playing here one day, i’ll be in the NBA”
now he’s an NBA MVP and NBA Champion 🥹
— 𝙎𝙠𝙮𝙚𝙙 🇦🇺 (@SkyedOKC) October 16, 2025