SGA for MVP?: Gilgeous-Alexander vying to become 1st Canadian NBAer to win award since Nash

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2023 has been a fantastic year for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The rising basketball star from Hamilton, Ont., completed his breakthrough season in the NBA, led the Canadian men's national team to an historic bronze medal at the FIBA World Cup, and last week won the Northern Star Award for Canadian athlete of the year.

But 2024 might be even bigger for SGA. Before he leads Canada into its first Olympic men's basketball tournament in nearly a quarter century, he has a chance to become the first Canadian since Steve Nash nearly two decades ago to win the NBA's Most Valuable Player award.

Gilgeous-Alexander got his first taste of MVP buzz last season, when he placed fifth in the voting after scoring 31.4 points per game (the fourth-best average in the league) and leading the rebuilding Oklahoma City Thunder to a play-in berth. In addition to his first All-Star selection, Gilgeous-Alexander was named to the even more exclusive All-NBA First Team, beating out Steph Curry and other household names for one of the two guard spots.

This season, Gilgeous-Alexander is playing even better. About a third of the way into his sixth NBA campaign, the 25-year-old once again ranks fourth in the league in scoring (30.7 points per game), with significant increases to his field-goal percentage and his assist and rebounding numbers. Meanwhile, his turnovers are down and his steals are way up, from 1.6 to a staggering 2.8 per game — a full steal more than anybody else in the league is averaging. To put that in perspective, the gap between SGA and No. 2 steals man Donovan Mitchell is equal to the