Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s legacy isn’t just arriving — it’s detonating on live television, game after game. And on Monday night, it went from brilliant to historic.
A Historic Company of Four
With his 31-point outing in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, SGA became just the fourth player in NBA history to notch 15 games of 30+ points in a single playoff run. The other names? Michael Jordan. Hakeem Olajuwon. Kobe Bryant.
That’s not just elite — that’s basketball royalty. But even among that elite tier, Gilgeous-Alexander is carving a path that is uniquely his own, defined not just by scoring but by everything else.
The Most Complete Player in the Series?
Let’s talk numbers because the box score doesn’t lie. In the same Game 5, where he dropped 31 points, SGA added 10 assists, 4 blocks, and 2 steals. That’s not a line you usually see outside of a video game. It’s never been done in an NBA Finals game — until now.
Across this postseason, he’s racked up 638 points, 136 assists, 114 rebounds, 37 steals, and 18 blocks in just 21 games. That’s absurd. It’s production on the level of LeBron in his prime — and that’s no exaggeration.
And speaking of LeBron, Gilgeous-Alexander just broke a postseason record shared by the King and MJ: the most 30-point, 5-assist games in a single playoff run. Jordan and James maxed out at 11. SGA just hit 12. That’s the new gold standard.
Master of the Moment, Not Just the Mic
What makes all this more impressive is how SGA is doing it. He’s not forcing shots or demanding the spotlight — he’s letting the game come to him.
With Andrew Nembhard playing bulldog defense, SGA attempted just six shots in the first half of Game 5. But he didn’t disappear. He adapted. Facilitated. Defended. He’s not just a scorer — he’s a stabilizer, a chess master making calculated moves in a playoff hurricane.
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault didn’t hold back either. “He’s getting better every year in just about everything,” Daigneault told NBA.com’s Shaun Powell. And he’s right.
Gilgeous-Alexander has learned to recognize when defenses collapse and is now flipping those moments into wide-open threes or easy cuts for his teammates. He’s evolved into a full-spectrum superstar, and the league is running out of ways to slow him down.
Chasing the Triple Crown of Greatness
If SGA can carry the Thunder to a title and snag Finals MVP, he’ll complete a holy trinity few have ever touched: scoring title, regular season MVP, and Finals MVP in the same season. The only players to ever do it? Kareem, MJ, and Shaq. That’s a short list. That’s a Mt. Rushmore list.
At 26, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander isn’t just having a breakout year — he’s building a legacy that could echo across NBA history.
