Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in ‘Michael Jordan’ Tier of Basketball, Claims Steve Nash

Former NBA player Steve Nash made a bold claim comparing the reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to the great Michael Jordan.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in ‘Michael Jordan’ Tier of Basketball, Claims Steve Nash

Steve Nash on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Image credits - Firstsportz)

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The reigning and defending champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander have been on a rampage this season. Coming off a final appearance in the previous edition of the NBA Cup, they will take on the San Antonio Spurs in the semifinals after knocking out the Phoenix Suns in a convincing 138-89 win at the Paycom Center on Wednesday night.

No team in the league can stop the Thunder at the moment, as the win propelled them to 24-1 and are currently at the top of the Western Conference standings. The win over the Suns extended their winning streak to 16 games. And what makes their performances so devastating is that they are not just beating their opponents, they are dismantling them. They are winning with a point differential of 17.5 points after 25 games.

One of the main reasons for their historic start to the season is their primary scorer, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The Canadian international is coming off a spectacular campaign last season where he claimed the league MVP, scoring title, Finals MVP and the NBA Championship. The OKC guard is averaging 32.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 6.5 assists so far this season and is currently second in the scoring charts behind Luka Doncic, who is averaging 35 points.

While SGA is the holder of the Michael Jordan regular-season MVP, many pundits and analysts believe his scoring numbers and efficiency put him in the same status as the six-time NBA champion. Last week, he was coined as the ‘Michael Jordan of modern NBA‘ by former Boston Celtics legend, Paul Pierce.

A similar statement was echoed by former two-time league MVP Steve Nash, at Amazon Prime’s pregame coverage of the NBA Cup.

Offensively, this guy is getting into the heir statistically of people like Michael Jordan. I know that is sacrilegious to say, but look at some of these numbers. Among all-time 30 points per game scorers, he has the highest true shooting percentage. He is second in three-point field goal percentage, and two-pointers, he’s sixth at 60%.

The scoring numbers over the last three seasons do show that SGA deserves to be considered in the same tier as Jordan in terms of elite scoring. And what makes this comparison justifiable is that last season he joined Jordan as the only guard in NBA history to win the Finals MVP, the regular season MVP, and the scoring champion in the same year.

Giannis Antetokounmpo to OKC?

The trade rumors surrounding Giannis Antetokounmpo are getting more intense with every passing day. While it is likely he may stay in Milwaukee for the remainder of the 2025-26 campaign, he will definitely be traded from the Bucks in the offseason.

Giannis Antentokounmpo
Giannis Antetokounmpo (Image credits – Sky Sports)

While Antetokounmpo has requested the Bucks to be traded to the New York Knicks, the Knicks may not have enough assets for the 2021 NBA champion after acquiring Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges.

A few days ago, Carmelo Anthony suggested that OKC should move for the ‘Greek Freak’. It appears that Pierce agrees with the idea as well.

I want to see them break the NBA. Send him (Giannis) to OKC and keep the big three, send the Bucks them draft picks they got, give them the Clippers pick who is gonna have a lottery pick this year and they will be happy with rebuilding. I want to see them break the internet. Break the NBA. I want to see it.

With the OKC already in the midst of a dynasty, adding the likes of Antetokounmpo will be similar to the time when the Golden State Warriors added Kevin Durant and broke the NBA.

Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are not floppers

After the recent comments made by Jaylen Brown regarding ‘selling your soul’ to win the MVP, there have been a lot of talks about MVP candidates often caught flopping to get to the line and score more points.

This was a topic on the latest edition of No Fouls Given and Playmaker as they broke down Brown’s comments. Host and former NBA champion, Danny Green, said:

I don’t think Shai is a flopper. I think he is good at initiating the contact, and as soon as it happens, letting you know. He sells calls. I think Austin, Luka, SGA, and Harden, they more so create contact than they flop. When you say flop, it’s a guy that’s actually on the floor.

SGA and Doncic have been called out several times for selling fouls and flopping to increase their scoring output. SGA is averaging 10 free throws per game, while the Lakers guard is averaging 12. Even past MVPs like Joel Embiid and Antetokounmpo are known for getting to the free-throw line very often.

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