Player Bio

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was born in 1998 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is the son of Charmaine Gilgeous and Vaughn Alexander. Vaughn coached Shai when Shai was young. Charmaine is a former track star who competed for Antigua and Barbuda at the 1992 Summer Olympics. Shai played at three different high schools. He began in Hamilton, Ontario at St. Thomas More Catholic Secondary School before switching to Sir Allan MacNab Secondary School. He then transferred to Hamilton Heights Christian Academy in Chattanooga, Tennessee for his junior and senior years. His cousin is fellow NBA player Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Follow SGA on Twitter (@shaiglalex) and Instagram (@shai). Gilgeous-Alexander played one season with the University of Kentucky. For the 2017-18 season, he appeared in 37 games with 24 starts. The guard averaged 14.4 points, 4.1 boards, 5.1 assists and 1.7 steals. Gilgeous-Alexander shot well, converting 48.5 percent from the field, 40.4 percent from behind the arc and 81.7 percent from the charity stripe. He also led the Wildcats in assists, steals and three-point shooting. He was one of only three freshmen in Kentucky history to record 61 or more steals. The Canadian was named to both the All-SEC Freshman Team and All-SEC Second Team and earned the 2018 SEC Tournament MVP award. Gilgeous-Alexander is one of four NBA players to emerge from the 2017-18 Kentucky roster after being selected at No. 11 overall in the 2018 NBA Draft by Charlotte (then traded to the Clippers the same day).