The NBA is always on the lookout for its next face. With icons like LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant entering the twilight of their careers, it’s more important than ever for a young superstar to carry the torch forward. Many have a claim to that title, but according to Gilbert Arenas, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is that guy.
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Gilgeous-Alexander is coming off arguably the greatest individual season since LeBron James’ 2013 campaign with the Miami Heat. He won the scoring title, league MVP, Conference Finals MVP, Finals MVP, and capped it all off by leading Oklahoma City to its first-ever NBA championship.
Shai may not be the undisputed best in the league. There’s still Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, and 2024 champion Jayson Tatum. But as far as Arenas is concerned, Gilgeous-Alexander has surpassed them all.
The three-time All-Star spoke about this on the latest episode of his Gil’s Arena podcast. “LeBron’s leaving. Curry’s leaving. KD’s leaving soon. They’re searching for who’s gonna be the face of the league. Who’s gonna be the face that they are selling to corporate America?” asked Arenas.
The Wizards legend then broke down what the NBA is looking for in a face and explained why SGA could be their golden ticket for the next 10 years. “It comes with style, looks, family. Can we trust you with our sponsors not to get in trouble outside? He checks all those boxes,” said Gil. “Boom, MVP. Western Conference MVP. Now this is gonna be the face of the NBA, they’re going to win the championship.”
The NBA is choosing SGA as the NEW face of the league pic.twitter.com/kPHO9mLrTy
— Gil’s Arena (@GilsArenaShow) June 23, 2025
Gil does tend to speak as if he’s always right, but it’s hard to argue with him here. SGA is widely praised for both his elite skills and his calm demeanor. Now that the 26-year-old has all these accolades, he’s in a prime position to step into the spotlight. Arenas later brought up another player who was close to becoming the league’s poster boy, Tatum. But he offered a sharp take on why the Celtics’ superstar got passed over: because the NBA didn’t back him.
“When we talked about Tatum as the face, what we were missing was the NBA backing. He lost the Eastern Conference MVP. He lost the Finals MVP. ‘I thought he was gonna be the face of the NBA and you just keep giving trophies away to somebody else,'” joked Arenas.
That wasn’t all. Gil recalled how Tatum was benched for the entirety of Team USA’s run in the 2024 Paris Olympics. “And then, during the biggest time of America, you’re benching him. You’re defacing this man in public in America.”
Tatum has a bigger concern right now than being the face of the league — and that’s returning to the court at all. He tore his Achilles in the Conference Semifinals against the Knicks and will most likely miss the entire 2025–2026 season. It’s a shame he was never officially crowned with the league’s “face” title, but considering his accolades, he still has the résumé to make a strong case for it.
