Oklahoma guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) poses for a photo shoot during Thunder media day at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on Monday, Sept. 29, 2025. NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

NBA Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Reveals His 4 Biggest Rivals

Originally posted on Fastbreak on SI | By Justin Grasso | Last updated Oct 14, 2025 9:23 PM ET

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has landed in an elite NBA tier. Not only is he an NBA Champion, but he also stamped his MVP-caliber season by winning the trophy in 2025.

When you talk about the new generation of players running the game, Gilgeous-Alexander has to be near—if not at the top of the list. But when it comes to the players he views as rivals, he’s not looking at the younger guys. It’s still about the older generation—the idols for SGA.

“Nothing against the guys my age, but the guys I can’t wait to match up against are the LeBrons, the Steph Currys, the KDs, the James Hardens,” Gilgeous-Alexander recently told GQ.

“The guys I grew up watching, that have completely stamped themselves on basketball forever, that have accomplished the things I want from the game. There’s no better test to see if I’m capable of accomplishing those things than going against those guys.”

Gilgeous-Alexander hasn’t seen those guys at their peak. When he was coming out of Kentucky in 2018, the LA Clippers rookie was entering an NBA where LeBron James was joining the LA Lakers, James Harden was nearing the end of his Houston Rockets tenure, Steph Curry and the Warriors seemed to have their title-winning days behind them, and Kevin Durant was about to face a major injury to put his career in question initially.

Shockingly, all of the players mentioned are still going and still playing at a star level. That’s kind of the point for Gilgeous-Alexander.

Finding long-term success in the star-driven league isn’t easy. Injuries play a part, as does roster-building. And even if players can stay healthy and be in a favorable situation, sometimes they simply fall off. Gilgeous-Alexander is working on staying top-tier for a while.

Since entering the NBA, Gilgeous-Alexander has switched teams once. His first season in LA included 73 starts in 82 games. He averaged 10.8 points, 3.3 assists, and 2.8 rebounds, while shooting 47 percent from the field and 36 percent from beyond the arc.

In 2019, the Clippers flipped SGA to the Thunder in the Paul George blockbuster deal. He was one of the NBA’s most improved players, averaging 19.0 points, 3.3 assists, and 2.8 rebounds. Since his third season in the NBA, Gilgeous-Alexander has averaged over 20 points and assists. Over the past three seasons, he averaged over 30 points and 6.0 assists.

The NBA expects Gilgeous-Alexander to be in the MVP conversation for years to come. When the Curry, KD, LeBron, and Harden class hangs it up, Gilgeous-Alexander will certainly be one of the top players to represent the NBA until he calls it a career.