At just 23-years-old, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has emerged as one of the best young players in basketball.
With season averages of 23.7 points and 5.9 assists per game on 50.8% shooting, he is the best player on the Thunder by far and a guy whose game continues to excite experts and fans.
At this point in his career, there remains uncertainty about what type of player Shai will become. It’s only natural for a guy with so much still to prove.
But, in a recent piece by GQ, they revealed an interesting story about Shai’s experience at an art gallery, where he crowned himself as the “black Steve Nash.”
We’ve made it to the Meatpacking District, where we pop into an art gallery. Dealer Eric Allouche begins to show us $500,000 Picasso paintings and the finest works from Keith Haring, Malik Roberts and more. Shai is captivated by the art—his team set this meeting up in hopes of replacing the posters he’s got up at home—but he’s not quite as comfortable as he was when we were shopping for clothes. After being told the price of a Haring-scrawled metal door, Shai’s face puckers like he swallowed sour lemonade.
“Isn’t that how much you make a game?” someone asks.
On the way out, Allouche asks Shai about basketball. Shai begins doing his invisible dribbling routine again, but this time no one comes to guard him. Allouche wants to know what position Shai plays, a bit out of touch with the trappings of modern basketball. Who can blame him? He’s only an art dealer. Shai, seeing he’s been left wide open, swishes a free one.
“Me?” he says, casting a devilish little grin. “Well, I’m the Black Steve Nash.”
Clearly enamored with Nash’s game, SGA hopes he can replicate his playstyle and create an impact on the basketball floor much like Nash used to do in Phoenix.
In Oklahoma City, Shai doesn’t have a whole lot to work with, as the team is still in the middle of a hard rebuilding phase.
Eventually, the hope is that, with time, the team can build a solid roster around their young star, and help him live up to the mantle as the modern-day Nash.
