It’s hard to deny how impressive Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s season was, especially with him leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to the West’s number one seed. Among those who believe he’ll be one of the NBA greats in the years to come is no other than Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson.
Gilgeous-Alexander first entered the league as the Los Angeles Clippers’ 11th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. This is the same class that produced Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic, Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young, and New York Knicks’ Jalen Brunson.
After being traded to the Thunder as part of the Paul George deal, SGA thrived first as Chris Paul’s understudy and as the team’s number one option over the years. This season, though, his performance was elevated to another level as OKC built a young core of Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, and Luguentz Dort around him.
In the 75 games he played this season, the MVP runner-up posted averages of 30.1 points on 53 percent shooting from the field, 5.5 rebounds, 6.2 assists, and 2.0 steals per contest. He also led the Thunder, the league’s second-youngest team, to a first-place finish in the Western Conference.
However, the SGA-led Thunder squad fell short during the semifinals against Doncic and the Mavericks. Although it was his foul that cost OKC the series, his performance all year ha proven Gilgeous-Alexander has come far in his NBA career.
Magic Johnson Christens Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander As The Next NBA Superstar
After his playoff run, SGA was on the receiving end of both positive and negative takes. Among those that dished out the former is Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson in a tweet he recently posted on his X account.
“And let me just say, we have a superstar in this league – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander! After his performance last night and throughout the Playoffs, we are going to enjoy watching him for many years to come,” Johnson tweeted.
While most of the attention has been on Doncic and Anthony Edwards in the playoffs, SGA managed to lift a young Thunder team with minimal veteran presence to contention. At the same time, his productivity on both ends of the floor signify that he’s in his prime now and there may be a lot of years ahead of him.
Even though OKC was eliminated recently, the future ahead of them looks brighter than ever. With Gilgeous-Alexander at the helm, sky will definitely be the limit for this team.
