Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has led his Oklahoma City Thunder to the NBA Finals, and they're now just four wins away from the NBA Championship. The young superstar says Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant played a part in his upbringing.

Even though he never had the chance to meet him, Gilgeous-Alexander credited Kobe Bryant for the inspiration he gave an entire generation of fans.

How Shai Gilgeous-Alexander draws ‘influence’ from Kobe Bryant

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2024-25 season, leading the Thunder to 64 regular season wins while averaging 32.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 6.4 assists, and 1.7 steals per game. He did so while shooting 51.9 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from three.

A recent video that surfaced on social media showed a number of offensive moves that Bryant was known for perfecting and compared them to shots made by Gilgeous-Alexander doing those same moves.

During the media availability before Game 2 of the 2025 NBA Finals, the OKC Thunders star was asked about the video and if Bryant was someone he studied growing up.

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“That’s probably my favorite player of all time,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander explained. “I never got the chance to meet him, to answer your question. But yeah, not only me, but for kids all across the world, his influence has gone through the roof. His legacy will be remembered forever because of the competitor and the basketball player that he was. Hopefully I’m somewhere close to that level as a basketball player one day. But he was a special talent, special person, and God rest his soul.”

Even Thunder teammate Jalen Williams agreed with the comparisons.

“Yeah, there are a lot of similarities there,” Jalen Williams added. “I feel like if you're really paying attention to basketball and watch the way he plays, it's a lot of similarities. It's cool that he can pick certain aspects of his game, kind of mimic that a little bit, and add his own touch to it. That shows the kind of player that he is, to be able to steal bits and pieces from his favorite players and be able to put it into a game and work on it. There's a lot of work behind the scenes that goes into him being able to do that.”

Game 2 of the NBA Finals will tip off Sunday night at 8:30PM EST on ABC.