The Oklahoma City Thunder have been well-represented in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, with five current players playing for their home country. Team Canada finished their World Cup run with a Bronze Medal tilt against Team USA. Heading into the dance, many thought this matchup would be to take home the gold. Still, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and company made plenty of history along the way.
Throughout the Summer, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has made a statement. He is one of the best players in the world. This FIBA World Cup run has been highlighted by his back-to-back 30-point performances in win-or-go-home games this week to lift Canada to the Semi-Finals against Serbia.
Although Canada eventually fell to Serbia, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander out dueling the likes of Luka Doncic in the last month has given him a boast in the eyes of many heading into the 2023-24 NBA season. Now, Gilgeous-Alexander owns a piece of Team Canada history.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes his mark on FIBA World Cup record books for Team Canada in a wildly successful Summer.
There is no question that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander represents the best player on Team Canada. You can make a strong argument he had the best run of any player in the tournament, and it was capped off with his performance against Team USA for the Bronze Medal.
In the first half of that contest, the OKC Thunder superstar became the second-best scorer in Team Canada FIBA history.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has now scored 172 points in this FIBA World Cup, the second-most for a Canadian player ever in one of these suckers.
— Arash Madani (@ArashMadani) September 10, 2023
Leo Rautins, by the way, had 197 back in 1978.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has earned the second-most points for Team Canada in a single FIBA World Cup run with 172, an honor he grabbed to start this game against Team USA.
While he will not be able to catch first-place honors, this was still a historic Summer for the max contract point guard, who answered many questions along the way.