TORONTO – Basketball star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has won this year’s Northern Star Award as Canada’s athlete of the year.

The Oklahoma City guard won the NBA’s most valuable player award last year before leading the Thunder to a league championship. He was also named MVP of the NBA Finals.

The 27-year-old from Hamilton has picked up where he left off last season and is averaging 32.8 points a game for the Thunder, who are off to a 23-1 start in 2025-26.

Gilgeous-Alexander also won the award in 2023.

Swimmer Summer McIntosh, who won the award last year, curler Rachel Homan, rugby star Sophie de Goede and hammer thrower Camryn Rogers were the other finalists for this year’s award.

The award is given out annually by The Toronto Star and is voted on by a committee of sports journalists a

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