Young star Anthony Edwards went viral for his comments on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and how he was the rightful MVP last season. After hearing the comments for himself, Shai was asked to respond to the endorsement and he expressed major appreciation.
“It’s a really good feeling. No offense to you guys in the media, but the best satisfaction is when your peers and the guys that do the same thing for a living at a very high level that you do recognize and respect your craft and your talent,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “That’s a really good feeling.”
Shai was moved by Edwards’s compliments and he took it upon himself to return the gesture with some kind words of his own. Looking back on his most recent battle with Edwards, he gave a glowing review of his game.
“Obviously, the caliber player he is, the sky’s the limit,” Gilgeous-Alexander added. “Hard-fought battle tonight. But, yeah, it feels really good.”
The 2024 MVP race came down to Shai or Nuggets center Nikola Jokic. Even with averages of 30.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game last season, it wasn’t enough for Shai to beat Jokic, who won his third MVP trophy.
Instead, after finishing 2nd in the MVP race, Shai led the Thunder to the Western Conference semifinals where they matched up against Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and the Dallas Mavericks. The Thunder ended up losing the series but they made some moves over the summer to get even better as a team and increase their odds of a title run.
With Shai leading the way, the Thunder are poised to make amends for their failures and prove themselves as a contender in the West. At 27-5, the Thunder have a 5-game lead for the top spot in the West, and their current 12-game win streak is the best in the league.
For his part, Shai is putting up some of the best numbers of his career and is once again an early favorite to win MVP. With averages of 31.3 points, 6.0 assists, and 5.5 rebounds per game on 52.8% shooting he’s making a case for being one of the best players in the game and he’s putting the world on notice.
It’s not just Edwards who holds Shai’s game in the highest regard. Proven vets like Tyronn Lue and Kevin Garnett have also hailed SGA as an elite superstar who is destined to become one of the premier faces of the NBA.
Without the hardware to prove it, there will always be some room for doubt with Shai and the Thunder. At just 26 years old, he’s still relatively new to the superstar status and he’ll have to contend with some of the best teams in the league just to make it out of the West.
But if Shai can make a run and take Thunder to new heights in the playoffs, it will cement his legacy as one of the NBA’s top modern-day athletes. While there is much work to be done, Gilgous-Alexander is confident that his team can go all the way.
The next test for the Thunder is on Tuesday, January 2nd, against the Clippers at 8:00 PM EST at Paycom Center. They continue their home stand against the New York Knicks on January 3rd at 8:00 PM EST before their big game against the Celtics on January 5th at 3:30 PM EST.
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