Oklahoma City Thunder won the pivotal Game 4 against the Indiana Pacers to tie the 2025 NBA Finals. Despite finishing with an impressive stat line and scoring 15 of the Thunder’s last 16 points in the fourth quarter, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is still facing criticism.
Advertisement
Through the first four games of the NBA Finals, SGA hasn’t been the same efficient player he was in the regular season. The Canadian superstar is shooting a below-average 48% from the field.
Although the playoffs will always be harder than the regular season, a near 4% drop in efficiency is a large dip from what’s expected of Shai.
And Indiana has done a great job of making him uncomfortable. Hall of Fame guard Dwyane Wade sees an area of improvement within the 2024-25 MVP’s game.
On his part, Shai remains calm, cool, and collected through these ups and downs. However, Wade believes he should be doing the opposite.
“When I look at Shai, he is one of the coolest dudes in the world. This ain’t the time to be that cool,” Wade proclaimed on the Time Out podcast. The three-time NBA champion then used the late Kobe Bryant as an example.
During the 2010 NBA Finals, the Los Angeles Lakers’ superstar struggled to get his shot going. “A lot of people don’t know that in the last Finals, Kobe didn’t play well. Everybody thought Pau Gasol should have been the MVP,” Wade said.
The Spanish ouwer forward averaged 18.6 points, 11.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 7 games in the 2010 NBA Finals.
Bryant averaged 28.6 points per game in the 2010 NBA Finals. However, his efficiency was abysmal at 40%. In Game 7, Bryant shot a poor 25% from the field.
Still, and probably undeservedly, the Lakers’ star won the Finals MVP. So much of the conversation around Kobe is about his image and the emotions he evoked. Wade put it in simple words.
Shai needs to show Kobe Bryant’s intensity
“Kobe was playing awful, but you could never tell when you turn on the TV because his leadership is always there,” Wade said.
“His intensity was always there… I need [Shai Gilgeous-Alexander] to make sacrifices. That means if I’m struggling offensively, I [have] got to make some plays on the defensive end of the floor,” he added.
The Thunder are an amazing defensive team, and SGA is part of the reason for that. A maximum of three games remain in the Finals, as both the Pacers and Thunder have to win two more to win the title.
And, Shai may have to get a bit ugly if needed to gain an upper hand and secure his first NBA championship.
