Last summer, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander broke out on the international scene. The 26-year-old led Canada to its best finish in program history with a bronze medal in the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
Over the last two seasons, Gilgeous-Alexander has ascended into one of the best players in the league. He’s had back-to-back top-five MVP finishes, including runner-up last season.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have graduated to a title contender and Gilgeous-Alexander is the largest reason for that. It shouldn’t be a shocker to see him be one of the best players in the infancy stages of the 2024 Olympics.
Canada is 2-0 in group play with wins over Greece and Australia. Barring a disaster, it will advance to the knockout stage of the international tournament.
Through two games, Gilgeous-Alexander is measured as the second-best player of the 2024 Olympics with a 33.13 Global Rating, per HoopsHype. He’s ranked behind Canadian teammate RJ Barrett.
Fellow Thunder teammate Lu Dort is ranked the No. 22 player with a 16.18 Global Rating.
RJ Barrett is the Olympic MVP as of now, per HoopsHype's Global Rating. pic.twitter.com/oCMSJ3B2Pf
— HoopsHype (@hoopshype) July 30, 2024
Global Rating is a tell-all stat that measures how impactful a player is with a rating. A full explanation of the formula can be read here.
The eye test also aligns with it. Gilgeous-Alexander is the best player on arguably the second-best squad of the 2024 Olympics. Canada has a shot at making serious noise.
