Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way from the front as his OKC Thunder secured a dominant win in Game 7 against the Denver Nuggets.
He scored 35 points on the night and looked incredible as the team secured a 125-93 win.
The MVP frontrunner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will now face off against Anthony Edwards‘ Minnesota Timberwolves.
Both these young stars met last year in the playoffs as well, and on that occasion it was the Timberwolves who came out with the win over the OKC Thunder.
However, a year later a lot has changed and it will be interesting to see how these sides matchup in what is a game that could decide the winner of the NBA Finals.
While Shai will be excited to be up against a star like Edwards, he will also be buzzing to meet someone who is very close to him on the Timberwolves when the two sides faceoff.
Shai’s cousin brother Nickeil Alexander-Walker is a player that comes off the bench for the T-Wolves.
He is an integral part of the team and plays important minutes for them.
The two have met multiple times before as well, but this is going to be the most competitive things have ever gotten between the two Canadian brothers.
Speaking about facing Alexander-Walker, SGA said: “It’ll be very fun, it’s hard to even explain.
“If you know how close we are, he’s literally my second brother. He’s been through every stage of life with me, picking up a basketball, going to prep school to going to the NBA, we gone through every situation together.
“For both of us to be where we are is special to compete against each other is special, but I’m gonna take his head off for sure.”
The 2024-25 season has been special for SGA by every account as he has managed to almost do everything with his team.
After a painful loss in the playoffs last year, he has finally managed to lead them to the Conference Finals, which will be a tough test.
The MVP winner has not been announced yet, but SGA seems to be the likely award according to a players poll.
His Thunder side finished as the top seed in the Western Conference and dominated their opponents throughout the regular season.
However, all of that should be put aside when they head into the Conference Finals.
They beat an experienced Nuggets side to move ahead, but Timberwolves are going to be a different team from what they have seen so far in the playoffs.
The presence of players like Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle makes them a team stacked with size, but the Timberwolves also have the likes of Anthony Edwards, Mike Conley and Jaden McDaniels to rely on.
SGA will have to be at his best as there are multiple players on the Timberwolves who can guard him.
But the Canadian is not someone who is afraid of challenges and will be up for whatever the team from Minnesota throws at him.
