Chris Paul's Impact on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Can't be Understated

As NBA Commissioner Adam Silver presented Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with the 2024-25 MVP award, the Oklahoma City Thunder guard spotted a familiar face next to his wife, Hailey Summers.

"Who is that sitting with my wife?," Gilgeous-Alexander asked himself initially.

At a closer glimpse, it all made sense why the individual was sitting next to Summers: it was his former teammate and future Hall of Famer, Chris Paul.

“Caught me off guard. I had to double take," Gilgeous-Alexander said, with a grain on his face. "But then I seen it was Chris. I was like 'All right, cool.'”

Gilgeous-Alexander and Paul only spent on year together as part of the 2019-20 Thunder team, but it was perhaps the most valuable season of mentorship that the league's top player has ever gotten.

In many ways, they never should've crossed paths. Looking back five years later, though, it's hard to envision Oklahoma City being two wins away from an NBA Finals appearance without it.

The two men joined the Thunder in far different scenarios. Gilgeous-Alexander was the centerpiece — alongside a stash of endless draft picks — that it received from the L.A. Clippers for Paul George, after the star forward requested a trade.

Next up, it was time for Oklahoma City to move on from Russell Westbrook. While it did add more to its draft stash, the addition of Paul in the final trade package from the Houston Rockets was a confusing move at the time. The guard was at a point in his career where he desired a championship — the Thunder didn't seem nearly in that position.

Nevertheless, Paul remained a Thunder by the start of the regular season. Oklahoma City went on to shock many, finishing with a record of 44-38 and taking Houston all the way to Game 7 in the first round of the playoffs.

In his age-34 campaign, Paul put up 17.6 points, five rebounds and 6.7 assists per game that ended No. 7 in MVP voting. Even so, he wasn't the Thunder's leading scorer — that came from Gilgeous-Alexander.

Stepping up majorly from his rookie campaign, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 19 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game on 47% shooting from the field. In a matter of year, Oklahoma City already figured out who could be its next franchise player.

Paul would depart to the Phoenix Suns the following season, but his impact has stretched to today's Thunder with his mentorhsip of Gilgeous-Alexander. Consistently praised as one of the NBA's smartest players, it's no surprise that he taught the young guard well even in a short amount of time.

"(Chris) has been great," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "Not only like a big brother (or) mentor, but just as a friend. He was always there to lean on ... first guy in my life that I was close with, that achieved the things I wanted to achieve."

Much of the advice Gilgeous-Alexander has sought out from Paul has been related to basketball, but certainly not all. It's gone to business, taking care of his body and most importantly, taking care of a family.

Gilgeous-Alexander and Summers welcomed their first child — Ares — back in April 2024. That's a lot to balance when being on the road for an extensive period of time, but Paul has been well-experienced in that situation.

"There's so many things that you deal with as an NBA player, especially of his caliber, that go under the radar," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "His guidance with that has been great ... not only as all the mentorship and stuff, but just being there as a friend. He's been special."

Gilgeous-Alexander and Paul's careers will remain intertwined, despite it being just a season sharing the same jersey. Their relationship, however?

It'll continue far beyond basketball.