Northern Star Award. It is the trophy which is awarded each year to the sportsman of the year in Canada, and this year, the Canadian press chose a basketball player with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Since the creation of this distinction in 1936, only one basketball player has won it, and that was Steve Nash in 2005.
“I am honored to have been chosen as a winner of the Northern Star Award,” reacted Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the columns of Toronto Star. “From my childhood in Hamilton to today, as a member of the Canadian national team, I have seen how basketball has grown in Canada. I'm proud to have contributed to that by playing with the Thunder and participating in the World Cup last summer. In 2024, I promise that my teammates and I will make our fellow Canadians proud in Paris. »
Voted in the best five of the NBA and the World Cup
Fifth best scorer in the NBA with an average of 30.4 points and first interceptor with 2.8 interceptions per game, the Thunder leader had a successful year on an individual and collective level, whether at club or national level. An All-Star in February, he was named to the All-NBA First Team and was already the first Canadian to receive this honor since Steve Nash in 2007.
Then, this summer, he led Canada to a World Cup bronze medal, with a top-five selection in the tournament. The result is direct qualification for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
In the poll, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is ahead of hockey superstar Connor McDavid, golfer Nick Taylor, hammer thrower Camryn Rogers and swimmer Summer McIntosh.
