“You Cannot Guard Him”: Dwyane Wade Questions Pacers’ Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Defense as MVP Dominates Game 1

Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals is in the history books, with the Indiana Pacers shocking the world by making yet another incredible fourth-quarter comeback against the Oklahoma City Thunder to win 111-110. But despite the loss, MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander looked ready for the big stage, dropping 38 points and coming just one lucky roll away from closing the door on the Pacers for good.

Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade was impressed by the Pacers’ 111-110 win, which came as a result of Tyrese Haliburton‘s jump shot with 0.3 seconds left on the clock. But D-Wade still feels that the Thunder will see out the series.

The ex-Miami Heat star spoke about the same on the latest edition of his podcast. He broke down several aspects of the game, specifically how he thinks Indy needs to improve its defense against SGA.

“What we talked about is the pressure,” began Wade. “We talked about 94 feet dawging him and when he get tired put another man on.”

It was good advice. Shai was beating every Pacers defender in the mid-range, and when he wasn’t sinking buckets, he was drawing fouls and knocking down shots from the free-throw line.

But even with that advice, Wade knew Indiana sensed trouble every time the 26-year-old had the ball. “You cannot guard him,” he stated, before going on to explain just how smart Shai is.

“What they’re doing is they are giving SGA space and then when the pick & roll come they trying to get up. He’s too elusive for that. His game too smooth for that. He too smart for that. They’re creating lanes by doing that,” he added.

The funny thing is, you’d think from the way Wade and company were talking about the league MVP that the Thunder had comfortably taken Game 1. But those pesky Pacers. This marked their fourth miraculous comeback win in this postseason alone, with their top star, Haliburton, giving opposing fans nightmares. Just ask fans of the Celtics and the Knicks—they’ve had enough.

WHAT THE HALIBURTON AGAIN

TYRESE WINS GAME 1 OF THE NBA FINALS FOR THE PACERS pic.twitter.com/TLv6OtQyWV

— ESPN (@espn) June 6, 2025

The good news for the Thunder is that they suffered a similar heartbreaking loss to the Denver Nuggets in the first game of the Western Conference semifinals. However, they managed to win Game 2, then take the series in 7 games.

About the author

Joseph Galizia

Joseph is a Las Vegas based actor and circus performer. For the last seven years he's had the pleasure of covering sports for multiple outlets, including the Lifestyles section of Sports Illustrated. In that time, he's conducted over 50 interviews with athletes, filmmakers, and company founders to further cement his footprint in the journalism world. He's excited to bring that skillset to the SportsRush, where he'll be covering the NBA news cycle.

Read More