All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has led the Oklahoma City Thunder to the NBA Finals, beating Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves and drawing high praise from Fox Sports One's Paul Pierce. After Pierce watched Gilgeous-Alexander post MVP numbers against the Timberwolves to win 4-2 in the Western Conference Finals, the Hall of Fame forward turned analyst put Shai in the conversation for face of the NBA.
For Pierce, Gilgeous-Alexander is on unpreceded run en route to the NBA Finals, per Fox Sports One's SPEAK.
“We’re talking about an all-time run right now by this kid,” Pierce said. “If we're gonna be talking about faces of the league, if they win the NBA championship, we gotta start looking at Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.”
Gilgeous-Alexander joins an exclusive list of players who've combined for 70+ points, 15+ rebounds, and 15+ assists in a two-game span during the conference finals with Hall of Fame guards Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Los Angeles Lakers All-Star LeBron James.
"We’re talking about an all-time run right now by this kid. If we're gonna be talking about faces of the league… We gotta start looking at Shai Gilgeous-Alexander."
Paul Pierce with HIGH praise for SGA and the Thunder 🗣️
(via @SpeakOnFS1)pic.twitter.com/78wbIbiMsk
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 29, 2025
Expand Tweet
Paul Pierce very impressed with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder
Article Continues Below
Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) drives to the basket against Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) and guard Mike Conley (10) during the fourth quarter in game five of the western conference finals for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center
Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
Fox Sports One's Paul Pierce suggesting Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander the new face of the NBA could feel like a foregone conclusion by the end of this year's NBA Finals. Pierce considers the Thunder a unique championship-caliber team with flawless approach.
“68-win team. Number one seed. They just dominated in the conference finals. They made Ant-Man look like a mere mortal [with] the suffocating defense,” Pierce said. “When I look at championship teams, I try to look to look for chinks in the armor, this is one oft he more complete teams that I've seen in quite some time. You have interior presence on offense and defense, you have an unstoppable guard, you got defenders on all the wing and off the bench. There's no weaknesses I can say.”
The Thunder will face either the Knicks or Pacers in the NBA Finals.
a]:text-link [&_>a]:underline">Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. Josue got his start as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com. He grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media, where he is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.