Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Names Veteran Legends As Biggest NBA Rivals

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is enjoying a nice victory lap. After winning the MVP and Finals MVP, he is on top of the basketball world. He’s also set up incredibly well to continue dominating personally and with his team. 

As part of SGA’s summer media tour, talking about his championship success and MVP season, he recently did an interview with GQ magazine. 

He was asked about his biggest rivalries around the league, and this is what he had to say: “Nothing against the guys my age, but the guys I can’t wait to match up against are the LeBrons, the Steph Currys, the KDs, the James Hardens. The guys I grew up watching, that have completely stamped themselves on basketball forever, that have accomplished the things I want from the game. There’s no better test to see what I’m capable of than going against those guys.”

This is very interesting because Gilgeous-Alexander is considered part of the new era of NBA stars. While guys like LeBron and Curry are reaching the end of their careers, players like Luka Doncic and Anthony Edwards are expected to take the reins as some of the league’s top stars.

It sounds like Gilgeous-Alexander doesn’t think of his younger peers as rivals quite yet. While he still has his sights on dethroning the old guard, he isn’t paying much attention to the stars on the come-up. That kind of makes sense, but he may be overlooking stiffer competition.

Are the older superstars really the guys who are going to give the Thunder the most competition this season? Probably not. Instead, he should be worrying more about Luka Doncic, Anthony Edwards, Victor Wembanyama, and their squads. That’s who is going to be fighting with the Thunder for years to come.