After earning his first All-NBA nod, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is slowly entering conversations around the league on the best players in the league.
The 25-year-old finished his career-best season averaging 31.4 points on 51% shooting. He led the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 40-42 record and one win shy of a surprising playoff berth.
Gilgeous-Alexander looks to build off his best season yet, and it appears players around the league are starting to take notice.
During his appearance on Patrick Beverley’s podcast, Los Angeles Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell detailed how good Gilgeous-Alexander is and why he thinks he’s the most underrated player in the league.
“Shai’s the most underrated player in the league, bro. I mean you said it — you were like, ‘He got that Kobe sh*t.’ When people say the most underrated player, every year I think of somebody else that nobody is talking about. Shai is the most underrated, hardest player to guard in the league bro. … OKC does this thing off the free-throw line where we shoot the free throw, Shai’s at the free-throw line, and they put all the other guys in the corner. It’s a full-court, one-on-one guarding Shai. They do it every game, all game, and you still can’t stop it. Not half-court, free-throw line, get to it. He’s unguardable.”
D’Angelo Russell and Pat Bev gushing over Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder:
“Shai’s the most underrated player in the league, bro. He got that Kobe sh*t. Hardest player to guard in the league.” -DLo
“Ask Pat, listen. OKC does this thing off the free throw line where we… pic.twitter.com/h4VFxMUecc
— Ross Lovelace (@Rosslovelace) August 3, 2023
This is pretty high praise from Gilgeous-Alexander’s colleagues — especially from two veterans such as Russell and Beverley.
With Gilgeous-Alexander entering his prime — he just turned 25 — expect him to continue to have similar seasons to the one he just enjoyed for the foreseeable future.
