Shai Gilgeous-Alexander no longer on injury report

As a single mom, Gilgeous had a few non-negotiables for her sons. Homework had to come first. Food had to be healthy. And no matter what was going on in their lives, they would always dress nicely. “I don’t play about how you look,” she said. “My kids could run amok in my house, but when they stepped out that door, you better, as we say, ‘fix up.’ “You better get it together.” “Growing up we’d always try to dress and look the part,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “That was very important. When we left the house, it was like, make sure your collar is down, make sure your shirt is not wrinkled. Make sure there’s no boogers in your nose. Make sure there’s nothing in your eyes.” -via ESPN / April 8, 2024

THE PLAYER WHO has mentored Shai Gilgeous-Alexander the most, and made the most impact on him, is someone he played with for just 17 months. Almost immediately upon his arrival in Oklahoma City, Chris Paul saw qualities and values in the then-21-year-old that mirrored his own: the unrelenting devotion to routine, the almost compulsive eye for details, the ability to see the longest view. Gilgeous-Alexander was constantly over at Paul’s condominium that year, trying to soak in as much as he could from one of the greatest point guards of all time. They trained together. Ate breakfasts and dinners together. Went to G-League games and talked hoops for hours. “Shai is just a basketball junkie,” Paul tells ESPN. “Even now, we might be on the phone watching a game, just talking about what we see.” But just as Paul is about to continue describing a player he now considers family, he stops. “You cannot write this story without talking to his mom,” he says. “Hold on. I’ll call her.” He patches her in. -via ESPN / April 8, 2024

“You OK?” she asks Paul, figuring he’d only be calling her during the season if something was amiss. They’ve become close over the years. So close that she makes a point to attend Paul’s games in Toronto each year, no matter which team he’s on. Paul assures her everything is fine. That he just wants to make sure her role in raising her son is fully understood. Charmaine Gilgeous introduces herself as “a sprinter.” And indeed she was — competing in the 400 meters at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona for Antigua and Barbuda. But she’s referring to a mentality, not just her résumé. -via ESPN / April 8, 2024