Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luguentz Dort are among the potential award winners from Canada.Â
As the NBA season heads into the stretch run, Canada has a real shot to be part of the awards conversation in a few different ways. The biggest one is obvious: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is right at the front of the MVP race again. After that, Nickeil Alexander-Walker has built a sneaky case as a dark-horse Most Improved Player candidate, while Lu Dort and a pair of Canadian assistants could still factor into the defensive and coaching conversations before the season wraps.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is still the Canadian awards king
If you're looking for the strongest Canadian case on the board, it starts and ends with SGA. He sits No. 1 on the latest Kia MVP Ladder, and the argument is pretty clean: he's averaging 31.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 6.6 assists a night for an Oklahoma City team that became the season's first 50-game winner and owns the NBA's best defensive rating. That's star-level scoring, elite two-way value and team success — basically the full MVP checklist.
The extra context only helps him. Gilgeous-Alexander broke Wilt Chamberlain's record with 127 straight 20-point games earlier this month, which is the kind of consistency voters love when they're separating superstars at the top of the ballot. If he closes cleanly, there's a very real path to a second straight MVP.
And honestly, he should be the favourite for Clutch Player of the Year too. SGA leads the league in clutch points with 156, and he has stacked up signature late-game moments lately, including huge finishes against Denver and Boston. If voters want the guy who keeps showing up when the game gets tight, that case is sitting right there.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker has a real Most Improved case
Alexander-Walker feels like the Canadian name that could surprise people. He's up to 20.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game with Atlanta, all career highs, and his scoring jump has been massive compared to last season's 9.4 points per game. NBA.com's John Schuhmann also noted that his per-36 scoring has jumped from 13.4 to 22.1, which tells you this isn't just empty volume — it's a real offensive leap.
What makes the case stronger is timing. Alexander-Walker is averaging 21.9 points during Atlanta's recent surge, and the Hawks were 14-2 after the All-Star break entering this week. That kind of late-season push matters when voters are looking for a breakout that actually changed a team's season. He may not be the runaway favourite, but he absolutely belongs in the conversation.
Highlights From Nickeil Alexander-Walker 26-Point Game
Highlights From Nickeil Alexander-Walker 26-Point Game
Lu Dort's best shot is probably All-Defense
Dort is probably the best Canadian long-shot name to mention for Defensive Player of the Year, but that road is tough. Oklahoma City has the best defensive rating in the league, and Dort still does the hardest wing assignments on a nightly basis. The problem is that the Thunder have too many other defensive monsters splitting the credit. Chet Holmgren is second in the NBA in blocks at 1.9 per game, while Cason Wallace already won Western Conference Defensive Player of the Month and has been one of OKC's top havoc creators.
Luguentz Dort defends Stephon Castle on Dec. 23, 2025, in San Antonio.
That's why DPOY feels more like Victor Wembanyama's award to lose. He leads the league in blocks per game at 3.0 and total blocks at 173, and the Spurs are sitting third in defensive rating. He's just ridiculous, and that usually wins out. For Dort, the more realistic outcome is an All-Defensive Team spot — though even that won't be easy in a crowded field.
Coach of the Year? Watch the Canadian assistants
There may not be a Canadian head coach in the Coach of the Year race, but there are still a couple of Canadian ties worth tracking. Quin Snyder's Hawks have ripped off a 14-2 run since the All-Star break, while Charles Lee has become a legitimate Coach of the Year possibility amid Charlotte's strong 2026 turnaround.
Why does that matter in Canada? Because Snyder's staff includes Scarborough's Ashton Smith, and Lee's staff includes Edmonton's Jermaine Bucknor. So even if the trophy doesn't go directly to a Canadian, there's still a decent chance a Canadian assistant is part of one of the best coaching stories of the season.
