It has been years since Paul Pierce played his final game in the NBA. But from time to time, he manages to get people’s attention with his blunt takes. Take for example what he said about Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. For the Boston Celtics legend, SGA is still not at the level where he can be considered a superstar.
“James Harden is still a bigger superstar than him,” Pierce said in a recent appearance on the All the Smoke Podcast with former Celtics teammate Kevin Garnett.
“I don’t think Shai is a superstar yet. I think he’s on the verge of it. I think it’s still some places he can go because they not on national TV every week. He’s not in the commercials. He’s an emerging superstar… he in the oven, he ain’t come out the oven yet,” Pierce added.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is A Gift for the Oklahoma City Thunder
Whatever things came out of Pierce’s mouth, they’re not going to change the truth about Gilgeous-Alexander being a huge reason why the Oklahoma City Thunder are on the rise in the Western Conference.
At the time of this writing, the Thunder are still in a neck-and-neck race with the Denver Nuggets and the Minnesota Timberwolves for the top spot in the West, a competition OKC would have had no business being in if it wasn’t for the brilliance of the former Kentucky Wildcats star.
The Thunder can be considered lucky to have Gilgeous-Alexander, though, credit must also be given to OKC’s front office for landing the guard. Gilgeous-Alexander was originally selected by the Charlotte Hornets in the 2018 NBA Draft before getting traded on the same day to the Los Angeles Clippers. In 2019, the Thunder acquired Gilgeous-Alexander from the Clippers along with Danilo Gallinari and some picks for Paul George.
On the season, Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 30.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 6.3 assists, while shooting 54.0 percent from the field and 36.7 percent from behind the arc.
SGA is currently nursing a lower-body injury as he missed last Wednesday’s game against the Houston Rockets with a quad contusion, though, it doesn’t seem to be serious enough to put his availability for the playoffs in great jeopardy.
The Thunder, who own a 50-22 record, will take a rest on Thursday before returning back to action on Friday in a home game versus Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns.
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