Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Goes Viral as Jeopardy Contestants Give Blank Stares Unable to Recognize NBA MVP

None of the contestants on Jeopardy recognized Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Goes Viral as Jeopardy Contestants Give Blank Stares Unable to Recognize NBA MVP

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's reaction is going viral (Image credits - Firstsportz)

In Short
  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the reigning NBA MVP and has been sidelined due to injury for nearly three weeks.
  • Despite his accolades, contestants on Jeopardy failed to recognize him when shown a photo.
  • Chris Paul prefers Gilgeous-Alexander over Luka Doncic for running point guard in the NBA.

The reigning NBA champion Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has shown no signs of slowing down till his recent injury. The Oklahoma City Thunder guard has been on a tear this season. After a historic 2024-25 campaign where he won the championship, Finals MVP, regular-season MVP, and the scoring title, SGA is well on course to win it all once again.

Drafted as the 11th pick in the 2018 NBA draft, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has shown remarkable growth with every passing season. Over the last three seasons, SGA has averaged 30+ points per game and is on course to make it four in a row this year.

Many pundits and analysts believe his scoring numbers and efficiency put him in the same status as Michael Jordan. Former NBA champion Paul Pierce has gone as far as to say that he is the ‘Michael Jordan of modern NBA‘.

It has been nearly three weeks since SGA was last seen in court. The Thunder have gone 4-3 in his absence. Prior to his injury, the OKC guard was averaging 31.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 6.4 assists in 49 appearances this season. He is second in the league in scoring and still leads the MVP race at the moment.

For all his achievements and accolades in the last three years, it would be expected that SGA has become a household name. Unfortunately, that was not the case in a recent episode of Jeopardy. The contestants were shown a photo of the Canadian international and had to answer his full name. But the three contestants had blank faces when the question was asked.

The host described everything he accomplished during the 2024-25 NBA season, including his MVP and his championship. But there was not a single buzz from the contestants.

Fans react to contestants not recognizing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

The blank stares from the contestants were quick to go viral, and fans took to the internet to react across social media.

While SGA has established himself as one of, if not the best, players in the NBA, he plays for the Thunder. The Thunder may be the defending champions, but they are a small-market team and do not get the same coverage as the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, and Golden State Warriors from the media.

Chris Paul chooses between Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luka Doncic at point-guard

Last week, Chris Paul announced his retirement from basketball after his unceremonious exit from the Los Angeles Clippers. During his time in the NBA, Paul was widely regarded as one of the greatest point guards of all time.

During a recent episode of Carmelo Anthony’s podcast, ‘7PM in Brooklyn,’ Paul said he would take Shai Gilgeous-Alexander over Luka Doncic as far whom he would want to run point guard in the NBA.

We would be on the road, watching games, but he [Shai] would love to be in the gym. And I think that year that we played together, he also started to see that defense matters. You ain’t gotta be a lockdown defender or whatnot, but when you’re playing defense for your team, your teammates just want to see that the starts actually try on defense.

Defense plays a huge role in winning championships. While Doncic is one of the most gifted offensive players in the NBA, he has often been criticized for his poor defense, which is one of the main reasons why the Lakers are not viewed as championship contenders this season.

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