After falling short in both the NBA MVP race and the playoffs last year, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander left no questions about his abilities this season. The seventh-year guard managed to build on back-to-back All-NBA First Team selections with one of the most impressive individual campaigns in basketball history. SGA added a scoring title to his resume after averaging 32.7 points on incredibly efficient 52/37/89 splits. Following a dominant campaign in which his squad dismantled the rest of the Western Conference, SGA’s Thunder quickly proved they weren’t just a regular-season fluke.
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The three-time All-Star had done just about everything a player could in a single season. A title was the only thing lacking. Now that the Thunder have officially clinched their first championship in franchise history, though, many have questioned whether SGA has already done enough to be crowned OKC’s best player ever.
Dwyane Wade lauded the 26-year-old and his teammates for reaching the pinnacle of the sport. But the Hall of Famer isn’t quite ready to give Gilgeous-Alexander that status quite yet. SGA has accomplished plenty throughout his six seasons in Oklahoma City, but the Thunder’s short franchise history is loaded with stars.
“Personally, I still think that Russell Westbrook is the greatest player in Oklahoma City history right now,” Wade said on his show. “Doesn’t mean he’s always going to end up that way. But to me, I still believe that. You can’t tell me that a player can come through Miami right now, win a regular season MVP, and win a Finals and Finals MVP, and he just becomes the greatest player in Miami history.”
The Heat legend stressed that it takes more than one magical season for a player to become that franchise’s all-time best. SGA has been a difference maker since arriving with OKC and a bona fide star over the last few seasons, but he still easily trailed both Westbrook and Kevin Durant before winning a title. Wade needs to see more from SGA with the Thunder before bumping Russ from his top spot.
“You can’t tell me that someone can just come and do something that you’ve never done, and it just makes them jump over you because of timing because of opportunities that was a little different than yours,” Wade explained. “What [SGA’s] done has put him in a different conversation, in a different room, than anybody who’s ever played in Oklahoma City.”
Wade’s crew on The Timeout wasn’t receptive of his stance, though, and prompted the three-time champion to ask someone who’s actually from Oklahoma City. In their eyes, a championship elevates SGA over everyone that came before him because none of the franchise’s former stars could accomplish the same.
Both Durant and Westbrook have multiple scoring titles and an MVP to their names. Durant also spent nine years with the franchise, while Westbrook spent 11. Both Thunder legends repped the city for longer, but it’s clear SGA is closing in on their cumulative contributions.
With a few more dominant seasons in the city, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will undoubtedly be regarded as OKC’s greatest player ever in the coming years.
