Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander already has an MVP award and an NBA title on his career résumé, but the 27-year-old has even grander ambitions.
“I pick up a basketball to be the best. If you’re asking me if I want to be better than Kobe [Bryant], of course I do,” he told GQ’s Yang-Yi Goh. “Whether I get there or not, we’ll find out.”
Gilgeous-Alexander has a long way to go to equal Bryant’s five titles and isn’t going to match his 18 All-Star Game appearances unless he plays well into his 40s, but he already has equaled his regular-season MVP awards and is just one scoring title behind him (2-1).
One thing he has already done, however, is put his name in the ring for the best player of his generation. While Nikola Jokić and Giannis Antetokounmpo are probably still the frontrunners in that regard, SGA is coming on strong. And he doesn’t plan on stopping.
“I still feel there’s another level I can get to,” he said. “Every season you get better in the offseason, the NBA adjusts to that version of you, and then you learn something new. And that cycle just goes and goes and goes. As you go in your career, it becomes more mental. At this point, I know how to shoot from every spot on the floor and get the shot I want when I want it. It’s more about timing and having peak-level endurance, knowing when to use it, when to capitalize on a moment.”
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