Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had one of the most historic runs during the 2024-25 NBA season. He won the NBA championship, the Western Conference Finals MVP award, the regular season MVP award, the Western Conference Finals MVP award, and the league’s top scorer in one year. IT’s safe to assume that he’s one of the best rising stars around the association.
He has been likened to some of the league’s greatest players, including Michael Jordan, as a result of his legendary run. Nevertheless, he distinctly plays his game. He isn’t the most flashy player nor the most athletic, but he gets the job done.
Former NBA player Charles Barkley went as far as to compare him to the Los Angeles Lakers star, LeBron James. Chuck compared SGA to explain how he’s not like a “killer” with his approach. Instead, he’s more of a “likable” person, like the Lakers forward.
“The three best players I’ve ever seen are Michael [Jordan], Kobe [Bryant], and LeBron [James], and I’ll tell you the difference between the three. Michael and Kobe were dangerous. They will kill your a–. LeBron is a nice guy, and that’s not a knock. He’s still great, great, great, but he’s a nice guy,” Barkley said in the latest episode of “The Bill Simmons Podcast.”
“Michael and Kobe weren’t nice guys. They’re different. The one thing about OKC, even though I think Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander] is a great, great player. To me, he’s more like LeBron. He’s a really nice guy. He’s not out there trying to kill you.”
Despite that, the Oklahoma City Thunder star still gets the job done and is one of the trickiest players when he has the ball.
Jalen Williams reveals his welcome to the NBA moment with the Oklahoma City Thunder
Jalen Williams proved that he’s one of the most important players for the Oklahoma City Thunder last season. He earned his first All-Star selection and helped win the NBA title.
But before he built a name for himself, Williams had a hard time adjusting to the pace of the professional level. He appeared as a guest on the recent episode of “Out the Mud” podcast, hosted by former NBA players Zach Randolph and Tony Allen. He revealed his “welcome to the NBA” moment, which came from Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard.
According to him, the Thunder played against the Clippers during his rookie season, and he was able to guard Leonard very well. They were scheduled to play a back-to-back against LA. However, the two-time NBA champion started 9-for-9 against Williams.
“We go back to the huddle. This is funny. Everybody don’t know Mark says slick stuff. He’s like, “He’s busting your a**, Jalen. Do we need to switch?” I looked at him. I was like, ‘Yeah.’”
In the end, Lu Dort took over the defensive assignment, but that didn’t stop Leonard from scoring over 30 points.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
