Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is on the cusp of his prime and arguably the face of the NBA, as he enters the upcoming season as a defending champion. Gilgeous-Alexander wants more than one championship. His path to be one of the league's greatest to ever play has just begun as he reflected on his past season, when he won MVP, a scoring title, Finals MVP, and a championship in a single season.
Still, Gilgeous-Alexander's calm and focused demeanor fends off trash talk, he revealed, in an interview with GQ's Yang-Yi Goh.
“Guys don’t really talk shit to me,” he says. “I don’t do nothing that warrants talking shit. I go out there, I have 30, we win, I go home. I’m not out there doing crazy stuff.”
No confrontations for Gilgeous-Alexander, which could soon change in 2025-26 as the Thunder will get the champion's treatment of every team's best effort throughout the regular season. However, Gilgeous-Alexander says he's not done getting better.
“I still feel there’s another level I can get to,” Shai says. “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.”
Thunder forward Chet Holmgren says talking trash to Gilgeous-Alexander to knock him off his game is pointless, which is why opponents don't even try.
“Shai’s the scariest type of person to play against,” says Holmgren, “because no matter what you do or say, you can’t even get a reaction out of the guy. He just goes out there and kills.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on his drive to be better than Kobe Bryant
Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's drive to surpass Kobe Bryant by the end of his career is his motivation after winning his first championship. Gilgeous-Alexander is excited for the future as he enters his prime.
“I pick up a basketball to be the best. If you’re asking me if I want to be better than Kobe, of course I do,” Shai says. “Whether I get there or not, we’ll find out.”
Gilgeous-Alexander and his Thunder teammates will receive their championship rings when they host the Rockets at the Paycom Center on October 21.
