Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a big fan of the way Steve Nash played the game. That's why he views himself as something of a second coming of the Hall of Famer.

Via GQ's Tyler R Tynes:

“Me?” he says, casting a devilish little grin. “Well, I’m the Black Steve Nash.”

That's quite the bold statement from SGA, but the Thunder guard certainly has plenty of confidence and swagger behind those words.

His play on the court also does plenty of talking. The Thunder guard is just 23 years old and just had a ridiculous statistical season for OKC, albeit in just 35 games as the team tanked in 2020-21. But in those 35 games, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 23.7 points, 5.9 assists and 4.7 rebounds while shooting 50.8% overall and 41.8% from 3-point range.

While the Nash comparison seems crazy, he didn't really start racking up the assist numbers until his mid-20s. There's still plenty of room for SGA to grow as a playmaker, and it will definitely help him when he gets better players around him … whenever that is.

Nash also became one of the best shooters of all time, boasting incredible efficiency throughout his career. Gilgeous-Alexander turning into one of the best shooters ever is a major stretch, but going nearly 51/41/81 last season was quite the impressive feat.

We'll see how closely Shai Gilgeous-Alexander can follow a Steve Nash path, but right now it's hard to bet against him becoming one of the best players in the NBA. He was also just rewarded with a mammoth contract extension, so the Thunder star has that going for him.