Toronto/CMEDIA: Canada’s Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder captured the NBA title on Sunday night, beating the Indiana Pacers 103-91 to win the finals in a seven-game thriller.
He becomes the fourth player in NBA history to win Finals MVP, a scoring title and play for a champion in the same season.
“A lot of hard work, a lot of hours in the gym,” Gilgeous-Alexander said after becoming the first Canadian to ever win Finals MVP. “This isn’t just a win for me. This is a win for my family. This is a win for my friends. This is a win for everybody that was in my corner growing up. This is a win for the fans, the best fans in the world.”
Gilgeous-Alexander. the face of basketball in Oklahoma City, is rapidly becoming one of the faces of the NBA — his jersey is now one of the highest-selling — and it’s no secret that he is the icon for fans in Canada now. It used to be Steve Nash, the first Canadian to win NBA MVP.
“It means everything,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We rose to the moment. And here we are.”
Gilgeous-Alexander became the first player since LeBron James in 2013 to win both regular season MVP and Finals MVP in the same season.
On top of that, he became the first player with at least 12 assists in Game 7 of the Finals since Magic Johnson in 1988.
