Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams led the Oklahoma City Thunder to the NBA championship in 2025, and Shaquille O’Neal believes they’re both now among the five best players in the league. O’Neal shared a rather interesting top-five list during an appearance on the Off The Record podcast.
“Steph Curry, Shai, like that boy J-Dub, three, [Nikola Jokic] four, got to still stay with Giannis [Antetokounmpo] at five,” O’Neal said.
O’Neal knew he would get pushback for leaving someone like LeBron James off the list, and made it clear he isn’t trying to throw shade at anyone.
“I already know [what] people going to do with that list,” O’Neal stated. “They going to say, ‘Oh, you diss LeBron.’ No. This is just my opinion. Everybody knows I love LeBron. This is my opinion. You ain’t going to change it.”
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, of course. Let’s first take a look at the players that O’Neal did pick, instead of focusing on the ones he didn’t.
Stephen Curry got the top spot, and he averaged 24.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game for the Golden State Warriors in 2024-25. Curry isn’t the destructive force he was at his absolute peak, but O’Neal picking him isn’t a surprise, as he has called him his favorite player in the past.
Gilgeous-Alexander came next, following what was a historic season. He averaged 32.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game for the Thunder in 2024-25 and won MVP and the scoring title. To go with these, Gilgeous-Alexander was named Finals MVP and Western Conference Finals MVP as well.
Williams ably supported Gilgeous-Alexander throughout the season, finishing with averages of 21.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.6 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game. The 24-year-old made the All-NBA Third Team and the All-Defensive Second Team.
Williams has shown that he is a special talent, but it is a bit too soon to put him in the top five. He became an All-Star for the first time this year and needs to keep up his strong play for a few more years to have a legitimate case to be in this conversation. The two players who come after him have done just that.
Nikola Jokic averaged 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds, 10.2 assists, 1.8 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game for the Denver Nuggets in 2024-25. Jokic just missed out on winning his fourth MVP award, as he finished runner-up to Gilgeous-Alexander. Despite that, the Serbian is still widely regarded as the best player in the NBA.
Giannis Antetokounmpo got the last spot on the list, and he put up 30.4 points, 11.9 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 0.9 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game for the Milwaukee Bucks in 2024-25. Antetokounmpo’s displays led to him finishing third in MVP voting, and he hasn’t finished outside the top four in the 2020s.
At this point, Jokic, Antetokounmpo, and Gilgeous-Alexander are locks for the top five. As for the two other spots, you can make arguments for quite a few players.
Luka Doncic would probably have the strongest case to get one of those spots. He wasn’t at his best last season but still averaged 28.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 7.7 assists, 1.8 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game for the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers. Provided he stays healthy, expect Doncic to be back in the MVP conversation in 2026.
