Shai Gilgeous-Alexander named Sports Illustrated’s 2025 Sportsperson of the Year

The year 2025 was an all-timer for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

After becoming just the fourth NBA player ever to win NBA MVP, scoring champion, and Finals MVP all in the same season, the former Kentucky guard is off to another MVP-caliber start in 2025-26. He’s averaging 32.1 points, 6.4 assists, and 4.8 rebounds per game this season for the 29-5 Oklahoma City Thunder. It was announced on Friday that SGA was named the Western Conference Player of the Month for December. Still just 27 years old, he continues to improve and thrive for a small-market franchise that he just led to a championship.

And for his year-long domination, the native of Canada is being recognized as Sports Illustrated’s 2025 Sportsperson of the Year.

“Gilgeous-Alexander is the 72nd recipient of SI’s top honor and the first Canadian to win the award outright since Wayne Gretzky in 1982,” Author Chris Mannix wrote. “He earned it for leading the Thunder to a franchise record 68-win season. For steering the team to two Game 7 closeouts in the playoffs. For etching the name of a small market oil town in the heart of college football country onto basketball’s most coveted trophy. For his charitable works, both in OKC and in Canada.”

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is SI's 2025 Sportsperson of the Year 👏 pic.twitter.com/aC8JELvTfO

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) January 2, 2026

On his way to winning the 2025 NBA Finals, Gilgeous-Alexander closed the 2024-25 season posting per-game averages of 32.7 points, 6.4 assists, five rebounds, 1.7 steals, and one block in 34.2 minutes. The 6-foot-6 point guard shot 51.9 percent from the field, 37.5 percent from deep, and 89.8 percent from the free throw line. On top of being named MVP, he was named All-NBA First Team for the third straight season while finishing 10th in Defensive Player of the Year voting and eighth in Clutch Player of the Year voting.

But as Mannix mentioned, it’s not just the on-court accomplishments that go into winning this award.

“He still does plenty of community work in Canada,” Mannix wrote. “Where—in addition to refurbishing basketball courts and visiting children in the hospital—he’s on the verge of launching an after-school music program in Hamilton to give kids an outlet for expression. In OKC, he has become a supporter of the children’s hospital. With Hailey, he volunteers at a community center that supports autistic kids.”

Gilgeous-Alexander is the 13th professional basketball player to win the Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year award and the first UK alum. Tiger Woods, Tom Brady, and LeBron James are the only people to win the award multiple times. SGA joins some elite company by being on this list.

[Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Is Sports Illustrated’s 2025 Sportsperson of the Year]