Believe it or not, basketball wasn’t the first sport for the reigning NBA MVP. Before Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was embarrassing defenders on the court, he lit it up on the soccer field.
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Ahead of the 2025-26 NBA season, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has gone on a mini press run. He recently completed a shoot with the magazine publication GQ Sports.
Fans didn’t just get to see SGA grace the magazine cover, the Canadian star also interacted with fans while undercover in a recent edition of GQ’s Actually Me.
Gilgeous-Alexander received plenty of questions from fans worldwide. One of the more interesting ones asked him, “If you had to pick another career besides basketball, what would it be?”
“If I could, I would play soccer,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Soccer is my first sport,” he revealed to shocked fans.
After hearing Gilgeous-Alexander’s answer, it makes sense how he has developed such elite footwork. During his early childhood and adolescent years in Hamilton, Ontario, soccer was the first sport to call his name.
When Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t make his grade 9 junior basketball team, soccer seemed like a legitimate avenue. Instead, SGA suited up for St. Thomas More’s midget squad, where he dominated. Ever since then, he hasn’t looked back.
But despite moving on from playing soccer, his love for the sport hasn’t evaporated. His connection to his first love in sports is evident through his friendships with those on the field.
Shai’s connection to soccer stars
As Gilgeous-Alexander has risen up the ranks in the NBA, he has also closely followed soccer and is even friends with one of the sport’s biggest stars, Vinicius Jr.
Before the 2024-25 NBA season, Gilgeous-Alexander took a trip to Spain to clear his mind. During the process, he connected with the Real Madrid star. This was probably SGA returning the favor considering Vini came out to a Thunder game back in 2023.
The Real Madrid star also brought Shai onto the field to play a bit of soccer with him before a match. Ever since, the two have shared a close connection with each other.
Vini isn’t the only soccer star Gilgeous-Alexander has a connection with. Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies is another star whom SGA has a lot of respect for. Their connection is a bit different in comparison to Vini’s since they’re both Canadian.
Hopefully, Gilgeous-Alexander shows the world his talent in soccer. But safe to say, no matter how good he is at the sport, he made an amazing decision by choosing basketball.
