OKC Thunder Star Leads Canada to First FIBA World Cup Medal

On Sunday morning, Team Canada took down Team USA in overtime of the bronze medal match at the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

With the win, Canada finishes the tournament in third place, aided by an outstanding set of performances from Oklahoma City standout Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

In Canada's victory over the US, Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 31 points, 12 assists, six rebounds, one steal and one block.

The 2023 All-NBA honoree shot 11-for-20 from the field in 40 minutes of action, coming up huge for Team Canada down the stretch to help send the game to overtime.

Gilgeous-Alexander was outstanding throughout the entire tournament, notably recording 31 points, 10 rebounds and four assists on 8-of-12 shooting against Luka Doncic and Slovenia.

While the FIBA tournament obviously doesn't directly translate to NBA success, it is reasonable to think that SGA will pick up right where he left off last season after watching him dominate his competition on the international stage.

Gilgeous-Alexander looked smooth and confident in the world cup, getting into the paint, finishing tough baskets and drawing fouls successfully.

During the 2023 world cup, the Thunder guard averaged 24.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 1.6 steals while shooting over 54% from the field in around 32 minutes per game.

Despite his success this summer, some OKC fans have begun to worry about Gilgeous-Alexander's 3-point shot. The 6-foot-6 guard takes most of his shots closer to the rim, and only averaged 2.5 shots from beyond the arc per game last season.

In FIBA this summer, Gilgeous-Alexander only averaged three 3-point attempts per game, shooting 30% from behind the line throughout the tournament.

In Canada's victory over the USA, Lu Dort got his first start of the 2023 FIBA World Cup. The defensive stalwart logged 32 minutes in the win, finishing with 11 points, six rebounds and two assists while shooting 4-of-10 from the field and 2-of-6 from beyond the arc.

With the 2023 FIBA World Cup concluding on Sunday morning, Oklahoma City's stars will return to OKC to prepare for training camp in a few weeks.

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