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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on His Two Favorite NBA Players Growing Up, Where He Draws Inspiration

Originally posted on Athlon Sports
By Nathaniel Holloway | Last updated Feb 18, 2025 11:00 AM ET

With the NBA All-Star weekend now over, the regular season is set to resume, which means that the race for the playoffs is set to heat up along with the MVP race.

Of course, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder is currently the favorite to win the MVP award. The 26-year-old has led the Thunder to a 44-10 record, which has them sitting at the top of the Western Conference standings and tied with the Cleveland Cavaliers for the best record in the NBA.

Shai has had an incredible season thus far. This season, the superstar point guard is averaging 32.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.0 blocks per game while shooting 52.3% from the field and 35.9% from three-point range.

While Shai has developed into one of the best players in the NBA, he recently revealed who his favorite players were growing up and who he drew his inspiration from.

“My favorite players growing up were Kobe Bryant and Allen Iverson,” Shai said. “They shot a lot of mid-range. For me it was just part of the game. It was a skill set, a weapon, and I try to implement it in my game and I’ve done so.”

Shai does have some Iverson and Bryant-like skills to his game. He was also right on him implementing the mid-range shot into his skill set.

This season, Shai has attempted 232 mid-range shots. That ranks second in the NBA behind DeMar DeRozan of the Sacramento Kings, who has attempted 427 shots from mid-range. Shai is also shooting 50.4% on mid-range shots this season, which ranks fourth in the NBA behind Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Dennis Schroder.

Of course, most of the shots in today’s NBA either comes from inside the paint or from beyond the three-point line, but Shai is one of the players keeping the mid-range game alive. He excels shooting from almost anywhere on the court, but it is clear that he has inspired his game around Bryant and Iverson, who were both elite mid-range scorers.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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