TORONTO (Canada) - Canada and Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is his country's top athlete in 2023 after winning the Northern Star Award.

Gilgeous-Alexander had an incredible year on the court, earning  an All-NBA First Team selection after a spectacular season with the Thunder and then an All-Star Five selection at the 2023 World Cup after spearheading Canada's run to third place in Manila.

The high finish clinched a spot in the 2024 Olympics, Canada's first qualification since the 2000 Sydney Games.

The 25-year-old Gilgeous-Alexander is the second basketball player to receive the Northern Star Award, with FIBA Hall of Famer Steve Nash having done so in 2005.

"I'm honoured to have been selected as the Northern Star Award winner," Gilgeous-Alexander said in a statement to The Star. "From the time I was a kid growing up in Hamilton to now being a member of the Canadian national team, I've seen how much the game of basketball has grown in Canada.

"I'm proud to help play a role in that through my play with the Thunder and at the World Cup last summer. In 2024, I promise that my teammates and I will make our fellow Canadians proud in Paris."

Gilgeous-Alexander was named to the All-Star Five at the World Cup 2023 after averaging 24.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 1.6 steals per game. In their 127-118 Third-Place Game triumph over the USA, he finished with 31 points, six rebounds and 12 assists as Canada reached the podium of a World Cup or Olympics for the first time.

In his fifth NBA season, Gilgeous-Alexander was fourth in the NBA scoring at 31.4 points per game. He was fifth in MVP balloting after leading a rebuilding Oklahoma City to a surprising spot in the NBA play-in spot in the post-season. He became the first Canadian to make the All-NBA First Team since Nash in 2006-07.

Gilgeous-Alexander has been even better in the NBA this season, with averages of 30.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 2.8 steals and 0.9 blocks. He is sixth in scoring, first in steals and fourth in efficiency (34.0), and the Thunder are second in the Western Conference standings with a 15-7 record.

The general manager of his franchise, Sam Presti, recently explained how the FIBA World Cup helped Gilgeous-Alexander to become even a better player.

 
At a press conference in Oklahoma City held by the Thunder, Gilgeous-Alexander was asked about the award.

"It's a good feeling," he said. "There are so many guys that came before me that I want to thank, that laid the foundation for me to go out and excel how I have, coming from Canada.

"But yeah, it’s an honor, obviously just to represent the country and be noticed by the country where I got raised. It’s a great feeling."

Gilgeous-Alexander beat out for the Northern Star Award Edmonton Oilers ice hockey superstar Connor McDavid, golfer and Canadian Open champion Nick Taylor, hammer thrower Camryn Rogers and swimmer Summer McIntosh to this year's award.

The Northern Star Award has been handed out annually since 1936 and is voted on by a committee of Canadian sports journalists.

FIBA