Ever heard the phrase “The climb will be tough, but the view is worth it”? If not, then you must have certainly seen it resonate in the life of some of the greatest people to ever live on this earth. Today, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander stands as the leading scorer of the Oklahoma City Thunder, the holder of a 5-year, $179.3 million contract, and the MVP of the 2024-25 NBA season. However, to get to this point, the player had to work hard. He had to work hard not just within the NBA, but also during his high school and college years, just so that he had a strong foundation through which to launch his NBA career.Therefore, with the player on his way to potentially winning his first-ever NBA championship, now is a good time as any to highlight a major chapter of his journey that helped him get to the NBA.Which college did Shai Gilgeous-Alexander attend?It would surprise you to know that, in 9th grade, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wasn’t good enough to make his school’s junior team. He had to play on the midget squad. However, through hard work and resillence, he won the team MVP title, and led St. Thomas More to the midget boys’ city championship. During his senior year at Hamilton Heights Christian Academy, Shai averaged 18.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists. All of this allowed him to be named a four-star recruit by ESPN, and provided him a chance to be wooed by several college teams.Shai initially committed to the Florida Gators, but decommitted back on October 2016. Syracuse, Texas and UNLV. Florida also remained involved after the parting of ways last month. After that, over 43 schools reportedly reached out to Shai. Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari offered him a scholarship, and the then-young star committed to the University of Kentucky. Kentucky took out a full-page in The Oklahoman to congratulate the MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. https://t.co/rAhUfzFJCa pic.twitter.com/BA5AUwNKwf— KSR (@KSRonX) May 26, 2025Amongst the other offers he rejected included those from Syracuse, Texas, and UNLV. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the first UK scholarship recruit to play in the Derby Festival Classic since 2013. He nailed a three-pointer to start the game, and ended it with a game-high 29 points in 19 minutes, earning the most valuable player title. Later, he represented the World Select Team at the 2017 Nike Hoop Summit and scored 11 points in 21 minutes. Even before his first college game, the foundation had been laid.Shai Gilgeous-Alexander NCAA statsShai-Gilgeous Alexander remained with the Kentucky Wildcats for only 1 season before entering his name into the NBA Draft. Over the course of that season, he played 37 games and averaged 14.4 points, along with 4.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists.On the shooting front, the future NBA MVP averaged 4.9-10.2 (48.5%) field goals, 0.6-1.5 (40.4%) 3-pointers, and 3.9-4.7 (81.7%) free throws. By the time his season was over, he had started in 24 of the 37 matchups, and averaged 33.7 minutes throughout all the games. While his 0.5 blocks and 1.6 steals per game didn’t highlight Shai as a good defensive star, it didn’t matter as long as he kept delivering on the offense. His 2.7 turnovers per game in college showed that some things never change.Shai Gilgeous-Alexander College CareerShai Gilgeous-Alexander, just like the majority of rookies, did not begin his college career as a starter. He was a reserve who sat behind freshman point guard Quade Green. Despite that, he averaged over 30 minutes per game.A popular story associated with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander occurred after a loss to UCLA. Shai turned up at the court with his usually long hair cut off! If this was a way to get motivated, it worked out well. He recorded a then-career-high and game-high 24 points, along with 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals against Louisville. This, along with only 1 turnover, earned Shai the Most Valuable Player honors for the game.“I knew it was coming,” said Shai Gilgeous-Alexander when asked if the performance was because of his new haircut. “I guess you could say that. I just felt good going out there and I knew a big game was coming.”Shai led the team for the next two games, too, scoring 21 points against Georgia and 18 points against LSU. This was a welcome change and a good storyline for the “struggling” UK team that had recorded a four-game loss streak during the season. Eventually, Shai was named a starter along with four other freshmen: Hamidou Diallo, Nick Richards, Kevin Knox II, and Shai’s future NBA rival P. J. Washington. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander His 27 points helped lift Kentucky to its 7th trip to the Sweet 16 in its last 8 appearances in the tourney. pic.twitter.com/vx5yIEMYlM— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 17, 2018The Kentucky Wildcats ended the 2017-18 season on a 26–11 (10–8 SEC) record. The team fell out of the AP rankings for the first time since March 2014 that season. Despite the losses, however, the Canadians’ PPG shot up to 12.9, along with 3.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists. Kentucky qualified for the March Madness series and made it to the Sweet 16 stage. However, the squad lost to Kansas State and couldn’t go further. Shai himself finished 2-for-10 shooting from the floor. Amongst the shots he missed was a missed three-point attempt at the buzzer.A month after that loss, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander declared for the NBA draft. The rest, as they say, is history.The post Shai Gilgeous-Alexander NCAA Stats: Revisiting OKC Thunder Star’s College Basketball Years appeared first on EssentiallySports.