Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been among the best players in the 2023 FIBA World Cup tournament. Including in Sunday’s win-or-go-home contest against Team Spain. The OKC Thunder superstar dropped 30 points, including an epic fourth-quarter takeover to advance Team Canada to the quarterfinals.
Now, the Oklahoma City Thunder max contract point guard will have a date in the knockout round with Slovenia and Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic. This has the chance to be a statement game for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was even compared to Doncic prior to this tournament tipping off.
While Gilgeous-Alexander has the better team around him, out-dueling Doncic would still open the eyes of many NBA fans who might have been sleeping on his breakout season a year ago for the Oklahoma City Thunder despite nabbing first-team All-NBA honors.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander can make a statement in his quarterfinals matchup against Luka Doncic.
Team Canada will take on Slovenia in the quarterfinal stage on Wednesday, September 6th. This portion of the tournament now moves to single elimination as a Champion will be crowned in the coming days.
The Quarter-Finals are set 🍿#FIBAWC #WinForAll pic.twitter.com/ePfcfQuZoN
— FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 🏆 (@FIBAWC) September 3, 2023
As you saw today, in winner-take-all contests, the OKC Thunder faithful can expect more heart-pounding games, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading the way for Team Canada. Lu Dort has also displayed a knack for performing well in these settings throughout his basketball career. Luka Doncic is literally nicknamed Luka Magic. This is set up to be an all-time FIBA World Cup game.
With the NBA world tuning in, this is a chance for the Oklahoma City Thunder superstar to make a statement against one of the NBA’s best. Gilgeous-Alexander discussed how playing in the qualifiers last summer helped launch pad his NBA success, and now, with a deeper run and training camp less than a month away, expect much of the same in Oklahoma City.