In his spare time, Gilgeous-Alexander would hoop with Montoya and Castillanes at their Filipino basketball league — the beginning of a basketball odyssey. Gilgeous-Alexander spent his sophomore yr at Sir Allan MacNab Secondary School on Hamilton’s west facet earlier than he transferred once more, this time to Hamilton Heights Christian Academy in Chattanooga, Tenn., as he sought higher competitors.
Gilgeous-Alexander finally landed on the University of Kentucky, the place John Calipari, the staff’s coach, knew he wanted to be robust on him. Otherwise, Calipari was going to hear about it — from Gilgeous-Alexander’s mom, Charmaine Gilgeous, a former Olympic runner for Antigua and Barbuda.
“When he played well, she would call me and say, ‘Don’t you let up on him,’” Calipari mentioned.
Gilgeous-Alexander had arrived at Kentucky with a hitch in his soar shot — Calipari in contrast it to Charles Barkley’s herky-jerky golf swing — and spent the early weeks of the season largely coming off the bench. By the center of January, he was blossoming as a starter. By June, he was the eleventh total decide within the 2018 N.B.A. draft, headed to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Gilgeous-Alexander performed so properly as a rookie that the Thunder put him on their want record. That summer season, when the All-Star Paul George needed to be traded to the Clippers from Oklahoma City, the Thunder insisted that Gilgeous-Alexander be included within the deal.
Now in his fourth season with the Thunder, Gilgeous-Alexander is the face of a franchise that ought to come outfitted with coaching wheels. Although Chet Holmgren, the No. 2 total decide within the 2022 draft, is out for the season with a foot damage, the Thunder have a core that features Josh Giddey, 20, and Luguentz Dort, 23. Even amid his emergence, Gilgeous-Alexander has by no means sought to separate himself from his teammates.
“I might have sworn at Lu before,” Gilgeous-Alexander mentioned, “but me and Lu lived together, and we’re like brothers so it doesn’t count.”
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