The story of the 2025 NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder can’t be told without mentioning Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The Canadian superstar isn’t the only reason that OKC achieved basketball immortality, but he is by far the main reason. Gilgeous-Alexander’s historic individual season is among the league’s all-time greats. Even putting forth a compelling case against arguably the greatest player in NBA history.
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SGA found himself among some impressive company following his first championship. He became the fourth player in history to win regular season and Finals MVP, the scoring title, along with a title in the same season. He joins Shaquille O’Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Michael Jordan to reach those feats.
It has been quite a long time since a player has dominated the league in the fashion that SGA has. Dallas Rutherford boldly claimed that Gilgeous-Alexander’s season is the best of any guard since Jordan in 1998.
Paul George can see where Rutherford is coming from, but doesn’t believe Shai is quite there.
“Didn’t [Michael Jordan] win one more? He made the First Team All-Defense as well,” George highlighted on Podcast P. Despite Jordan having an edge over Gilgeous-Alexander in total accolades, George doesn’t hold that against the 26-year-old too much.
“But from a season standpoint, you’ve got to put [Shai Gilgeous-Alexander] in that conversation. That’s a hell of a year, especially in the league today,” George proclaimed.
Don’t be mistaken, Gilgeous-Alexander is no slouch on defense. Of course, he doesn’t match up to the level of the six-time NBA champion. SGA may fill up the scoring column at an elite rate, but has yet to earn any defensive accolades. Jordan, on the other hand, was a nine-time All-Defensive team member and even won the Defensive Player of the Year award in 1988.
Although George doesn’t believe SGA finished with a better season than Jordan, he didn’t shy from giving the Thunder star the flowers he deserves, especially for not conforming his game to the standard of today’s era of basketball.
“Analytics despise the way SGA plays more now than they did in any other area. You want threes and layups, well, he gets to the free-throw line and doesn’t shoot threes. So, for him to be able to do that should put more emphasis on the players that can operate in a mid-range game,” George said.
The mid-range area has been a recipe for success for every perimeter star who has led their team to a championship. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is no different. And while he is likely not on the same level as Jordan but this was undeniably a special season for the OKC star.
