As one of the NBA’s five best players, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander needs some rivals. Every Reed Richards needs their Doctor Doom. It’s taken conventional wisdom some time to catch up to how unreal he is, but we’re at the point now where he’s a household name after an MVP and a ring.
The next step in his development is a healthy rivalry. Some popular candidates include Luka Doncic and Anthony Edwards. After all, there’s some playoff history there and all three are part of contenders. But if you asked Gilgeous-Alexander, he had a different answer.
Gilgeous-Alexander recently headlined GQ Magazine. Being on the cover is something NBA superstars usually do. After one of the greatest individual seasons in league history, it’s only fair that he donned the latest edition of the prestigious magazine.
In his GQ Magazine interview, Gilgeous-Alexander talked about his biggest league rivalries. He didn’t pick anybody on a similar career arc. Instead, he went big picture and said he’s chasing all-time greatness.
“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 said. “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 what I’m capable of than going against those guys.”
This might come off as arrogant, but Gilgeous-Alexander has the accolades to back it up. An MVP award and a championship put him in a tier above others like Doncic and Edwards. Maybe one day they can join him, but for now, the absence of those two trophies makes it difficult to compare.
That means Gilgeous-Alexander is chasing NBA pantheons. What he did in the 2024-25 season is similar to what guys like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant did at their peaks. What he’s done in the mid-range has been as revolutionary as what Curry did from the outside.
He had one of the more unique journeys to NBA superstardom, but Gilgeous-Alexander is well on his way to writing his name in history as one of the greatest scorers ever. He also has the talent around him to be the more decorative players with more trophies on the way.
That should make him one of the defining players of the NBA’s 2020s. Like James, Curry, Durant and Harden were in the 2010s.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander lists out who he considers his NBA rivals
