John Calipari Sends Clear Message About Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Before Game 6

As Calipari told ESPN's Pat McAfee on Thursday, Gilgeous-Alexander and Derrick Rose boast different playing styles, but the two guards "share the same DNA" as "unbelievable teammates."

"Shai won't do an interview unless his teammates are around," Calipari said. "Derrick wouldn't take a picture unless his teammates were around. You'll never hear a player who played with them ever say a bad word because they're great teammates."

In a single season under Calipari at the University of Memphis, Rose helped the Tigers reach the 2008 national championship game before he went to the Chicago Bulls at the top of that summer's NBA Draft.

But where Rose was a five-star recruit who always seemed destined for stardom, Gilgeous-Alexander was a four-star from suburban Toronto who had to earn his spot as a starter at Kentucky.

"Shai did not start for me for eight games," Calipari recalled. "When I called him in and said 'you need to be starting,' he said 'I'm good, Coach, I trust you.'"

Gilgeous-Alexander's willingness to trust the process has led him to the precipice of an NBA championship - which the Thunder can clinch with one more victory over the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night.