Celtics legend Paul Pierce is not yet sold on Oklahoma City’s biggest basketball star. Speaking on ‘KG Certified,’ Pierce gave his hot take that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the NBA’s MVP runner-up this season, is not yet a top-level superstar.
“James Harden is still a bigger superstar than him,” said Pierce. “I don’t think Shai is a superstar yet. I think he’s on the verge of it. I think it’s still some places he can go because they not on national TV every week. He’s not in the commercials. He’s an emerging superstar… he in the oven, he ain’t come out the oven yet.”
Is Shai a superstar now or an emerging superstar?@KevinGarnett5KG and @paulpierce34 hit the kitchen to debate how well SGA is cooking.
Watch the new episode of Ticket & The Truth on our YouTube.#ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/EK25TSljDQ
— All the Smoke (@allthesmokeprod) March 22, 2024
Depending on your definition of a superstar, Shai may or may not fit the description. But if the conversation is if he’s better than James Harden this season, it’s impossible to deny the obvious.
While Harden is playing third-fiddle on the Clippers this season, Shai has been the top guy on a Thunder team that is currently at the top of the standings in the West. Through 67 games this season, he’s averaging 30.9 points, 6.4 assists, and 5.6 rebounds per game on 54% shooting.
Shai’s play currently has him ranked top three in the MVP leaderboard and it earned him a starting spot in the All-Star game this past February. And while the Thunder are perfectly content to let Shai lead their future, he still has a lot to prove in terms of being a top-five player.
To date, Shai has virtually no playoff experience and we haven’t yet seen how his game holds up over the course of a tough, 7-game series. For that reason, there are significant doubts about both Shai and the Thunder’s ability to make a lengthy playoff run this year.
Will The Oklahoma City Thunder Be Upset In Round One?
The Oklahoma City Thunder are one of the most well-balanced teams in basketball. Top five in both offense and defense, they have virtually no flaws and have more versatility than any other team in the league.
With Shai, Chet Holmgren, and Jalen Williams, the Thunder have a solid core of rising young stars and a deep supporting cast to fill out the rotation. While still unproven, the Thunder remain one of the biggest threats to win the championship this season based on sheer talent and depth alone.
Even so, the idea that they might be knocked out early in the playoffs is rapidly gaining momentum as the season draws to a close. Just recently, Shaquille O’Neal revealed that he has more faith in the Lakers or Warriors to win a series than the Thunder, who are 10+ games ahead of them in the standings.
For now, until we know the results of this year’s playoffs, we can do nothing but watch and see how it all plays out but only a fool would count out a team that is on track to win 60+ games.
If Shai can maintain this level of play through the postseason, it will be all the critics need to place him in the upper echelon of superstars. Until he passes the test, however, not everyone will be convinced that he’s the NBA’s next big thing.
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