In a Jedi-to-Padawan dynamic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander credits a lot of his rich success to Chris Paul. Both arrived on the Oklahoma City Thunder at the same time. A one-year mentorship program showed the two-time MVP winner what it took to reach his absolute ceiling as he played alongside one of the greatest players ever.
Facing the realities of a super-expensive, middling roster, Kawhi Leonard provided Sam Presti a get-out-of-jail card. He forced the LA Clippers to acquire Paul George by any means necessary. In turn, the Thunder absolutely squeezed the desperate franchise for all of its draft capital for nearly a decade. Oh, and Gilgeous-Alexander.
Because the Thunder shockingly traded George after just two seasons, they hit the rebuild button.
Soon afterward, Russell Westbrook was traded to the Houston Rockets. In return, the Thunder acquired Paul and draft picks. Originally seen as a rehabilitation project, the future Hall-of-Famer absolutely revitalized his career in his sole year at OKC.
Along the way, Paul showed Gilgeous-Alexander the ropes in the 2019-20 season. The rest is history. The latter turned into one of the era-defining NBA superstars of the 2020s. With two MVP trophies, a ring and a handful of hyper-efficient 30-point campaigns, he's quickly risen the ranks as an all-time great. Most view him as the successor to fellow decade-headlining guards — such as Michael Jordan in the 90s, Kobe Bryant in the 2000s and Stephen Curry in the 2010s.
In a recent 'Time Magazine' interview, Gilgeous-Alexander detailed his time with Paul. Even though they were teammates for one season, their relationship has remained strong over the years. To the point that Gilgeous-Alexander still seeks counsel from Paul every now and then. As it was documented during OKC's 2025 NBA playoff run that finished with a Larry O'Brien trophy.
"I used to eat terrible," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "The seriousness that he approached the things outside of the game, his diet, the weight room, recovery, everything that he did ticked towards his performance. That was pretty eye-opening to me."
Look, Gilgeous-Alexander was likely on his way to NBA superstardom, anyway. He was simply too talented not to. But his one year with Paul paid dividends in an intangible way. Being around one of the greatest players of his era showed the then-young second-year guard what exactly it took to reach those same heights and beyond. It's not just about the 48 minutes every other night played on the court, but the remaining 23 hours in a day.
When reflecting on Gilgeous-Alexander's legendary mythos from a nice prospect to a generational talent, his chapter with Paul is going to be a critical one to remember. In the infancy stages of his NBA career, he had a real firsthand glimpse of the brutal workload and discipline it takes to be one of the game's greats.
TIME’s new cover: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the best player in the NBA… according to @shaiglalex.
— TIME (@TIME) October 8, 2026
Our interview: https://t.co/sHyT1te0bx pic.twitter.com/kbQSiCAZQo
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: How Chris Paul helped Shai Gilgeous-Alexander reach NBA greatness
