Oklahoma teacher’s Canadian flag ends up around Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s waist during Thunder parade
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — The Canadian flag tied around Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s waist during Tuesday’s Oklahoma City Thunder championship parade didn’t come from a flag shop or a website—it came from a Yukon High School teacher’s classroom.
Who could forget that parade?
The confetti, crowds, chaos, and one unforgettable image: NBA Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, standing outside the Oklahoma City National Memorial, with hands raised in triumph and a Canadian flag tied around his waist.
A healing, cathartic moment etched into Oklahoma history—maybe even destined for the very history books sitting inside Yukon High School teacher Alex Shirley’s classroom.
“To see at the location of such a horrific tragedy, a celebration of the Thunder of Oklahoma City—it’s incredible,” Shirley said.
After all, it would only be fitting.
“It’s awesome to be able to have a small part in such a monumental day for Oklahoma City.”
For the past few years, the red and white maple leaf, now immortalized around SGA’s waist, had hung on Shirley’s classroom wall.
“For every trip I go on, every country I visit, I get a flag and I hang it up here in my classroom,” Shirley said. “We’ve got Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana. I used to have a Canadian flag in this corner.”
But then came Sunday.
“It was right after the Thunder’s championship victory,” Shirley said.
A friend of his, who works with some Thunder players, posted an urgent call to social media, asking for a Canadian flag.
“I had a feeling it might be directed toward one of our Canadian Thunder players,” Shirley said. “I said, I got you.”
Then came Tuesday’s championship parade.
“I was there. I couldn’t miss the parade,” he said.
In the middle of the cheering, the waving, and the jumping, he saw something he couldn’t believe.
“I saw [Shai Gilgeous-Alexander] had a Canadian flag wrapped around his waist,” Shirley said. “I mean, it’s crazy. It’s surreal.”
A quick text from his buddy confirmed what he suspected.
“That was the flag I had relayed to him, and it was now on SGA’s waist,” he said.
The souvenir he picked up to memorialize a trip abroad was now memorializing, quite possibly, the most legendary day his hometown has ever seen.
“I had no idea that the Canadian flag from my classroom would end up on a Canadian legend, a champion from Oklahoma City,” Shirley said. “Arguably, on the biggest day in Oklahoma City’s history.”
But with all of that, still remains a question: where in the world is it now?
“I have no idea where that flag is,” he said. “Maybe in a locker or a suitcase somewhere.”
And possibly more importantly: where does it belong?
“I would get it framed,” Shirley said. “I would get it emblazoned or have an engraving that says what this moment is and how important this flag is for Oklahoma City.”
He also thinks maybe it should go in a museum. But he understands completely if it's too sentimental for Gilgeous-Alexander to give up.
“Shai, if you want to keep the flag, by all means—it’s a token of our city’s history. You absolutely deserve it,” Shirley said.
He also told News 4 that he wants to use the entire experience as a teaching moment in his government class, reflecting on how Oklahomans and local governments came together to bring the team here, and eventually make Oklahoma City the home to NBA champions.