Former NBA Players Crown Shai Gilgeous-Alexander As The Greatest Thunder Player Ever: Major Disrespect To Kevin Durant And Russell Westbrook
After their convincing victory in the opening games of their latest series (against the Minnesota Timberwolves), the Oklahoma City Thunder are now just two wins away from their first NBA Finals appearance since 2012. As the reigning MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander deserves a lot of credit for his Thunder run, and some have already started calling him the greatest player in Thunder franchise history.
"He's the greatest Thunder of all time," said Kendrick Perkins on NBA Today. "He already joined the company of Michael Jordan this year with three consecutive seasons shooting over 50%. He hoisted up the MVP trophy and now he's on his way to going to the NBA Finals and he's going to win the NBA championship and he's going to become Finals MVP. We're watching a young man right now who is the best perimeter player in the game of basketball. He's unguardable."
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Perkins was part of the Thunder team that made the Finals in 2012 and he saw the greatness of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook for himself. Yet, somehow, he's already seen enough to crown SGA as the "greatest Thunder ever." Surprisingly, he's not the only former player to make that argument.
"It's hard not to think this dude is the greatest Thunder of all time," said Chandler Parsons on Fan Duel TV. "As good as Russ was with the MVP and triple-doubles, and Kevin Durant, and James Harden, this guy's a different level when you win a championship, especially in this city, in this market."
It's easy to appreciate what Shai is doing right now and he certainly deserves a lot of praise for his performance this season with averages of 32.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 6.4 assists per game on 51.9% shooting. But with just seven years of experience in the league, and six with the Thunder, it's borderline disrespectful to rank him over other franchise legends.
Right now, Kevin Durant still has a stronger argument for being the best Thunder ever. In nine seasons with the franchise, he averaged 27.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game on 48.3% shooting. He was an All-Star seven times and won the MVP in 2014 while averaging 32.0 points per game.
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Of course, many Thunder fans would argue that Russell Westbrook has the best case as the franchise's greatest athlete. He leads the team in points with 18,859 over 11 years with the team. As a 9x All-Star, MVP, and 2x scoring champ, Westbrook was the face of the Thunder for many years and he was beloved by the fans during his best years there.
As good as Shai is, his resume doesn't yet hold up against legends like Durant and Westbrook, who are considered among the top 75 greatest players ever. Fortunately for Shai, he has a chance to strengthen his case if he wins the championship this year.
After winning his first MVP, SGA has the Thunder in position to make a serious championship run, and it'd be the first in the franchise's storied history. For that feat alone, Shai would qualify as the greatest player in franchise history,y but the job is not done yet.
Heading to Minnesota, the Thunder will face their biggest test yet in Game 3 as they look to take a commanding 3-0 series lead. Even if they advance to the Finals, there's no guarantee they'd beat whoever comes out of the East between the Pacers and Knicks. At the very least, Shai will give them a chance to win and his legacy will take a major leap if he manages to become an NBA champion at 26 years old.
Related: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander vs. Kevin Durant: Who Had The Better MVP Season? (Full Comparison)
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