ESPN Analyst Points Towards Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as Canada's Edge Over United States

The Oklahoma City Thunder has been a fun point of discussion for the national media this summer. Almost every year, a young, rising NBA team sticks out ahead of the regular season and they remain in the national news cycle.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's FIBA World Cup performance helped the team's case, though. He's coming off a season scoring 31.4 points per game on 51 percent efficiency from the field, and responded by dominating his FIBA World Cup games, even taking down the United States for a bronze medal, Canada's first medal in World Cup history.

This, of course, generated even more conversation around Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder. ESPN's Ramona Shelbourne that Gilgeous-Alexander is the reason Canada was able to beat the United States.

“In an NBA game, it often comes down to star power and Team Canada has a superstar whose name is Shai Gilgeous Alexander. And if you don’t know now you know. Oklahoma City has a star," Shelbourne said on the air. "I think that's what we saw in this tournament."

There was early discourse about Gilgeous-Alexander potentially being the best player in the tournament, which was combated by Luka Doncic's name. The two played, and Canada knocked off Slovenia as well.

While his FIBA play doesn't settle the better player, it's a positive sign to see Gilgeous-Alexander make such an impact for Canada. Now, he's going back to a team in Oklahoma City that's proven to work for his playstyle and even opens the game up for him more than Canada does.

There's a very real chance Gilgeous-Alexander is able to make his way back to the top five in Most Valuable Player voting once again, and the leap of his other teammates on top of the roster additions will make it possible.

After making a name for himself and the Thunder all last season, it feels like Gilgeous-Alexander's World Cup performance has officially solidified his game in the same tier as the top 15 or so players in the NBA.

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