The Oklahoma City Thunder are coming off one of the best seasons for a team in NBA history. The Thunder had a league-best 68-14 record in the regular season and went on to win the NBA Finals, on top of a slew of individual accomplishments.
The Thunder were led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who ultimately won the 2025 NBA MVP award in a tight race with Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic. Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 32.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game last season, finishing as the MVP and top ten in Defensive Player of the Year voting.
Gilgeous-Alexander became the 11th player in NBA history to win regular-season MVP and Finals MVP in the same season, joining the likes of LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Shaquille O'Neal, and more legends.
THREE LETTERS.
SGA = MVP
Happy 27th Birthday to the 2024-25 #KiaMVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander! pic.twitter.com/ZHCxQ589XP
— NBA (@NBA) July 12, 2025
Former LA Clippers star and three-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year Lou Williams recently shared who he believes the right comparison for Gilgeous-Alexander is.
"He's more Kobe [Bryant], but I know everyone's gonna fight that. I know that's something that everybody like, 'what the f*** you talking about?' But that's how Shai is, man," Williams said. "He has that type of temperament, game, as you can see, you can't speed him up. He's gonna get to his spot, he's gonna do what he wants to do. When it's all said and done, I think that's more of his class than anything else."
Every day should be Shai Day 😤 pic.twitter.com/0f2GNRGVqs
— Gil’s Arena (@GilsArenaShow) August 8, 2025
Gilgeous-Alexander has already put together one of the best individual seasons in NBA history, and while Williams is not comparing his legacy to Kobe Bryant's, any comparison to the Los Angeles Lakers legend seems far-fetched.
Bryant is a five-time NBA champion and is regarded as one of the greatest players in league history. The 18-time All-Star and one-time NBA MVP is arguably the best scorer the league has ever seen, so to compare Gilgeous-Alexander's game to his is bold. Of course, the display that Gilgeous-Alexander has put on over the past three seasons is reason to believe the comparison.
Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the handful of players in league history to average at least 30 points per game in three consecutive seasons, a feat that not even Bryant accomplished.
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