“Kobe!”: Chet Holmgren Tweets at Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Teammates from OKC Bench Mid-Game

The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Dallas Mavericks 118-104 tonight at Paycom Center with the help of some great performances from their starting lineup, led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. During the NBA Cup game, Shai and Luguentz Dort ran a play that received major praise from their teammate Chet Holmgren on social media.

The OKC’s official page on X posted a clip of the play with the caption “Shimmy and shake.” In the clip, Shai could be seen being guarded by Klay Thompson outside of the three-point line.

After a few attempts to make space for a shot, Shai was unable to get anything for himself because of Thompson’s lockdown defense. However, the sequence led to Lu Dort being open in the corner, in position to go for a three. But as soon as Shai passed the ball to him, Dereck Lively II closed in on him, forcing Dort to improvise.

The 25-year-old did a shimmy and charged forward with the ball toward the paint. Dort shot the ball from the restricted area and was successful in earning two points for his team.

This prompted a hyped response from Chet Holmgren, who was sitting on the bench due to a hip injury. He quote-tweeted the clip with the caption, “Kobe.” The 22-year-old used the most apt word ballers use to hype up a clutch under-pressure shot.

Kobe🗣🗣🗣🗣 https://t.co/WQRxIF0P7E

— chet holmgren (@ChetHolmgren) December 11, 2024

That wasn’t exactly a Kobe-esque play because if the Mamba were in Shai’s place, he’d have shot the ball himself. However, the overall determination of the OKC squad to score the basket warranted a ‘Kobe’, which we have yelled for years after shooting the ball or a piece of paper into the can.

Regardless, Shai would be very pleased with this response because he has been a lifelong fan of the Lakers legend. In a clip uploaded to YouTube by NBA ACTION, he can be seen discussing Kobe’s position on the GOAT list with a couple of young kids.

In the clip, Shai says, “Kobe is Michael Jordan, just on steroids.” He argued that there has never been a better all-around player in the NBA than the late legend. In his opinion, Kobe is the greatest of all time, followed by LeBron James and Michael Jordan, in that order.