The OKC Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has moved on from his team's elimination in the 2024 NBA playoffs. The star guard is now getting ready for a new challenge: leading Team Canada to gold in the upcoming Paris Summer Olympic Games.
Gilgeous-Alexander and company are practicing for the tournament, looking relaxed during the session. A short video shared on X by NBA Canada shows him doing the 'Bernie' dance, edited with funky music. The dance is performed by leaning the head back while moving the arms loosely and wobbling the head.
"SGA 🇨🇦 is vibing at practice! 😂," the caption read.
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Team Canada has a star-studded roster for this Olympic tournament. Besides Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, they're counting on Jamal Murray, RJ Barrett and Dillon Brooks, among others, to challenge Team USA, France, Germany and other nations that will land in Paris with the same goal.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's 2023-24 NBA season
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a terrific 2023-24 NBA season. He led the OKC Thunder to the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, beating the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves. SGA played a key role in those wins, playing his best basketball to date and signing his name as an MVP candidate.
He finished second in the MVP award voting with 640 points, trailing Nikola Jokic's 926 total points. The Thunder would go to the second round of the playoff, clashing with Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks. Despite his good performances, the Mavericks knocked out the Thunder in six games to advance to the Western Conference finals.
Shai averaged 30.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game, shooting 53.5% from the field, 35.3% from deep and 81.7% from the free-throw line.
Can Team Canada challenge Team USA for the gold medal this year?
Led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and 2023 NBA champion Jamal Murray, Team Canada is competitive enough to make a deep run in Paris.
Although they don't have the same depth that Team USA might have, Canada has a solid core to challenge for the gold. To make things better, the last time they clashed on the international stage, Team Canada got the bronze medal after a 127-118 win over their neighbors in the 2023 World Cup.
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