Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has spent the past season showing why he is the NBA’s best player.
The Canadian sensation stepped up in 2024-25, winning the league’s Most Valuable Player award.
The recognition for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was well-deserved. He has been the driving force of the Oklahoma City Thunder‘s historic 68-win season.
OKC is back in the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012, and Gilgeous-Alexander is determined to lead the franchise to win a championship.
And along the way, he continues to receive plaudits.
Tony Allen stands as one of the fiercest and most ferocious defenders of all time.
During his prime, he embraced the challenge of guarding the league’s biggest stars from LeBron James, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, among others.
But throughout his career, no one had a more significant impact on him than Kobe Bryant. Due to Bryant’s brilliance, Allen was forced to hone his defensive intensity that made him one of the best in the business.
Now retired and just watching behind the scenes, Allen is captivated by Gilgeous-Alexander. And from the way the OKC superstar approaches the game, it reminds him of the great LA Lakers icon.
“SGA, he’s been so Kobe-like to me, man. You know, last I was saying is [Michael] Jordan. I was throwing that around, but he got the mindset of to seek and destroy,” the Memphis Grizzlies legend said on SiriusXM NBA Radio.
“It’s three things gonna happen when you got him in the building. He’s imposing his will and I just think that he got that mindset of he’s going to score, get fouled, or it’s gonna be an assist. And there’s no stopping him when it’s his time to go isolation.
“He’s probably the best isolation player on the scene, and maybe the last five to ten years at the way he’s playing at this level.”
That’s a lofty statement coming from Allen. Previously, he also commented about Gilgeous-Alexander being cut from the same cloth as both Bryant and even Michael Jordan.
Gilgeous-Alexander showcased a remarkable offensive burst in his MVP season, averaging a league-high 32.7 points in 51.9 percent shooting. With his method of scoring play that relies on mid-range, Jeff Teague claimed that he “saved the NBA”.
Although his crafty tactics for clinching foul calls have been polarizing, his free-throw statistics are similar to some past NBA greats, argued Jay Williams.
Fans may question what Allen has claimed about SGA in relation to Kobe Bryant. At the end of the day, it can’t be denied that the reigning league MVP is a major talent who is truly bound for absolute greatness.
