Reader here! I’m the resident basketball fan around here, and I’m excited for a few reasons.
First off, the Canadian Elite Basketball League season has begin, and I’m hoping to get to Saskatoon to catch the Saskatchewan Rattlers in action at some point this summer.
Of course, we’re right in the middle of the NBA Playoffs, as well, with the Conference Finals underway.
In the Eastern Conference, it the renewal of a rivalry that really began back in the 90s, in the days of Patrick Ewing and Reggie Miller, and continues to this day, between the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers. Nowadays, there’s a bit of Raptor flavour involved in that series, as Pascal Siakam and O.G. Anunoby, both members of the 2019 Toronto Raptors championship squad, are now on opposite sides, with the Pacers and Knicks, respectively.
Meanwhile, in the Western Conference, there is some Canadian content as well, as the NBA’s top team in the regular season, the Oklahoma City Thunder, battle the Minnesota Timberwolves. Shooting guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker, of Toronto, is a member of the T-Wolves, but he’s not the superstar in the family.
His cousin, Hamilton’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the NBA in scoring this season, at 32.7 points per game, while leading the Thunder to a league-best 68-14 record. And tonight, he became just the second Canadian to ever be named NBA Most Valuable Player!
How cool is that? After finishing second in MVP voting last season, he raised his game this year and took the next step, becoming just the second Canadian MVP since the legendary Steve Nash won back-to-back MVPs in 2005 and 2006, as a member of the Phoenix Suns.
Not only that, SGA has a chance to win a title this year, too. How amazing would that be? Maybe he’ll even scoop up the NBA Finals MVP, too!
It is only fitting, since a Canadian (James Naismith) invented the game of basketball, that a Canuck should be the best in the world at it, right?
I guess we’ll have to watch and see! As a fan of the former Seattle SuperSonics, it’s a little bittersweet to see the Thunder have a chance to win it now, after the way the team was swiped from the Pacific Northwest in 2008, but I can’t help but root for SGA to go all the way. Here’s hoping he can get it done!
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