You don’t talk too much about your neighbor’s wife when your own wife is at home. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander realized something on those lines during his interview with Nardwuar.
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Over the last few years, Shai has gone on to become the face of the Oklahoma City Thunder, which is why imagining him playing for any other franchise is unfathomable. But of course, those who love stirring the pot will continue to do so, as evidenced by Nardwuar’s recent attempts to get SGA to talk about his hometown team.
Being from Canada, the only real team Shai could geographically root for was the Toronto Raptors, and for a while, he did. But then, he got to the NBA, played for the Los Angeles Clippers, got traded to OKC, and created history there by winning the MVP, Championship, and Finals MVP.
Toronto is a long shot away from landing Shai, or even dreaming about a move as things stand. But Nardwuar, whose eccentric interviews on YouTube have landed him close to four million subscribers, wanted to get something out of SGA.
Nardwuar kept coming up with connections between Shai and the Raptors, beginning by shedding light on his first-ever NBA game in Toronto. He then showed the Canadian a record from Master P, another former baller turned music icon who played for the Raptors. Finally, he also came across a record from Hakeem Olajuwon, who, surprise, surprise, also played in Toronto for a year.
“So, that’s a connection to the Raptors,” Nardwuar innocently pointed out. “I know you play for OKC, but there are a lot of connections.” By that point, Shai understood what he was trying to do and had to interject, pleading with him to stop.
“You’re gonna get me into trouble, so you gotta slow down with this Raptors stuff,” Shai stated.
Nardwuar trying to link SGA to the Raptors lol
pic.twitter.com/j5Fm8Y41QR— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) September 22, 2025
Of course, the 27-year-old was thinking about the Thunder. Fans of the franchise would not be happy with him gushing over his love for the Raptors or expressing too much interest in them. Plus, it’s not like Shai is planning on going anywhere anyway, at least as far as public knowledge goes.
Chances of Shai joining Raptors?
There’s a reason Nardwuar kept probing the MVP about a possible Raptors linkup. Shai was a fan of the team growing up, and admitted in the same interview how he loved traveling to their games because of the excitement they brought to the city.
“The Raptors brought so much excitement to Toronto. Growing up, I loved going to Raptors games. I looked forward to them. They were super special,” SGA said.
On several occasions, Shai has also admitted to loving the energy when he travels to his home city for games during the regular season.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, like most Canadian kids, grew up loving the Toronto Raptors.
“The Raptors brought so much excitement to Toronto. Growing up, I loved going to Raptors games. I looked forward to them. They were super special.”
[via. @nardwuar ] https://t.co/tu95KUqmOp pic.twitter.com/PXohV3FTnU
— Omer Osman (@OmerOsman200) September 22, 2025
“Playing in front of people who are from where I’m from. Grew up the way I grew up. Seeing the same things I’ve seen. It’s like a little connection, even if I know them or not, we share a common bond. It’s cool. I’m proud to be Canadian,” the Toronto native once said in an interview.
Fortunately for Thunder fans, this doesn’t mean he’s planning on packing his bags anytime soon.
On July 8, it was revealed that SGA had signed a massive $285 million deal with the Thunder, keeping him in Oklahoma until 2031. He’s both the present and the future of the team, which is once again expected to be Western Conference favorites to go all the way.
