As expected, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the MVP favorites for the upcoming NBA season, as is Luka Doncic, who is still looking for his first MVP award.
The SGA seemingly inadvertently took a subtle attack on young NBA players like Luka.
“I have nothing against guys my own age, but I can’t wait to go against LeBron, Steph Curry, Durant, James Harden and others,” Gilgeous-Alexander told GQ. “I watched these guys grow up and they’ve left a mark on basketball forever, and they’ve accomplished what I want from the game. There’s no better test of my ability than going up against these guys.”
Anthony Edwards is another up-and-comer Shai’s age, but SGA has what Luka and Ant have yet to achieve.
MVP awards and championships, which certainly puts him in a higher category.
In the same interview, Shea talked about the impact he hopes to have on the game and mentioned Lakers legend Kobe Bryant.
Comparisons with him were not the primary goal. Gilgeous-Alexander wants more.
“I picked up basketball to be the best,” SGA said. “If you ask me if I want to be better than Kobe, of course I do. Whether I get there or not, we’ll know.”
He went on to explain that he thinks he can reach even greater heights in 2024-25. One season includes regular season MVP, championship, finals MVP and regular season scoring champion.
“I still feel like I can get to another level,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Every season you get better in the offseason, the NBA adapts to that version of you, and you learn new things. The cycle just keeps going. As you get into your career, it becomes more mental.”
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