Latest news with #VaughnAlexander
CBC
21-05-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Toronto-born cousins facing off at NBA's conference finals
Social Sharing Toronto basketball fans have plenty of reasons to tune into the NBA's conference finals — even though the Raptors season is long-over. Toronto-born Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the top-ranked Oklahoma City Thunder are taking on his cousin, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference finals. Gilgeous-Alexander's father, Vaughn Alexander told CBC Toronto Wednesday that seeing his son and nephew compete against each other in the NBA feels "surreal." "Any man wins, I win," said Alexander. "One of them is going to play in an NBA final." He coached Gilgeous-Alexander and Alexander-Walker when they were kids. The two cousins, who were born just two months apart, have been playing sports together their whole lives, which Alexander says has helped create a competitive environment between the two. "They're going to go hard at each other, and they've been doing this all their life, but they know at the end of the day, it's all love," said Alexander. He said his son and nephew have been best friends since they were kids, and played together on the same team until separating for college when Gilgeous-Alexander started playing for the Kentucky Wildcats, and Alexander-Walker for the Virginia Tech Hokies. Gilgeous-Alexander was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets in the 2018 NBA draft, and his cousin was drafted by the Brooklyn Nets a year later. Alexander says it doesn't matter who wins the series at the end of the day, because this is a "win-win" situation for him. "It's a pretty good problem to have," he said. "I can't lose, right? I've got two kids in the Western Conference finals." "I just want both of them to play well, be healthy, and have a good series, and after that, I'll celebrate either way." When asked about how it feels to compete against his cousin, Gilgeous-Alexander said it's very special. "He's literally like my second brother. He's been through every stage in life with me," he told reporters in a post-game interview on Sunday. WATCH | The two cousins talk about growing up on the GTA, playing for Team Canada in the 2024 Olympics: Paris 2024 is a childhood dream come true for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nickeil Alexander-Walker 10 months ago Duration 5:15 NBA stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nickeil Alexander-Walker are headed to Paris together with Team Canada. The pair sit down with CBC's Dwight Drummond to discuss how growing up in the GTA helped shape the players they are now, and their epic driveway battles. "For both of us to be where we are is special. To compete against each other is even more special. But I am trying to take his head off, for sure," said Gilgeous-Alexander. On Tuesday night, the Thunder defeated the Timberwolves 114-88 in Game 1 of the best-of-seven conference final. The two teams will face each other again for Game 2 on Thursday night.
National Post
21-05-2025
- Sport
- National Post
Get to know Canadian hoops star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ahead of NBA MVP announcement
With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander the betting favourite to be named NBA most valuable player on Wednesday evening, here's an explainer for the uninitiated of who he is, where he came from and the historic nature of his accomplishments. Article content BIOGRAPHY Article content Born July 12, 1998, in Toronto, Gilgeous-Alexander is the son of Charmaine Gilgeous, who competed for Antigua and Barbuda in the women's 400 metres at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, and Vaughn Alexander, a high school basketball star in Toronto who won a city championship for Georges Vanier Secondary and would go on to coach his son. Article content CAREER TRAJECTORY Article content A classic late bloomer who consistently exceeded expectations along the way, Gilgeous-Alexander's basketball path was far from linear. Article content He was cut from his Grade 9 junior team at Hamilton's St. Thomas More, but dominated at the midget level, winning MVP and a championship. He also attended Sir Allan MacNab Secondary in Hamilton before leaving for a school in Tennessee in search of bigger competitive challenges. Article content He impressed enough to earn a scholarship to Florida as a four-star recruit and was ranked 35th by ESPN in his high school class (cousin Nickeil Alexander-Walker, his opponent in the Western Conference final this year was ranked 21st), but kept generating buzz after attending a Basketball Without Borders camp and was one of the youngest players to ever make Canada's senior men's national team in 2016. Article content That led to a new recruiting war that Kentucky eventually won. Even so, Gilgeous-Alexander initially was considered one of the lesser prospects of the seven Kentucky commits that year (all but two would make the NBA, but Gilgeous-Alexander has clearly become several levels above even the second-best recruit, Dallas big man P.J. Washington). Article content Article content Article content Article content Several teams became enamoured by him as he turned heads during the pre-draft process, including the Toronto Raptors, who tried to trade for a late lottery pick to nab him. Ultimately, Gilgeous-Alexander went to the Los Angeles Clippers 11th overall via a trade with Charlotte. Article content 'I never really doubted this moment. My whole life I always believed in myself and my abilities, in how hard I worked. Article content '(I) got a lot better and then went to Kentucky for college and just always worked throughout my career and that's why I'm here today.'
