It took a little bit for conventional wisdom to catch up, but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is now universally viewed as one of the game's best players. His resume is undeniable. The two-time MVP winner is a one-time NBA champion and a walking 30-point bucket.
Even though Gilgeous-Alexander was a late bloomer in the NBA superstar scene, he's quickly made up for lost time with a stacked trophy case. When fans think of the 2020s, he's going to be one of the top names recalled. That's how you know you're well on your way to basketball immortality and the Hall of Fame.
But is Gilgeous-Alexander the best player in the NBA? He had an extremely strong case for the semantical, ever-debating title. In a recent 'Time Magazine' interview, he laid out his reasons
for why he is.
"I think I’m the best player in the NBA," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "I think the production that I have night in and night out is best-player-in-the-NBA production. I think the efficiency that I do it at is best-player-in-the-NBA efficiency. I think everybody picks up a basketball or a soccer ball or a football or a tennis ball to win the game, the match, whatever it is. And I’ve done my fair share of winning in these past couple years."
Oh wow, OK then. I know everybody prefers to let their game do the talking, but Gilgeous-Alexander articulated a pretty sound argument for being the best player in the world. I mean, he's won two consecutive MVP awards and a recent NBA championship. If not him, then who? Alongside Nikola Jokic, those two have finished top two in MVP voting over the last three years in an epic trilogy that rivals the OG 'Star Wars' franchise.
Gilgeous-Alexander has averaged a superb-efficient 30-plus points over the last four seasons. He's put up big-man efficiency as a slender 6-foot-6, drive-heavy, mid-range-loving guard. Only a couple of other all-time greats can say the same. Two MVP awards put him in even rarer company. And if he can do the impossible and win a third in a row, there's no denying he's a top-10 all-time player — all before turning 30 years old.
Every decade, there are a couple of faces who define the NBA. Gilgeous-Alexander is one of them for the 2020s. His competition isn't the current playing field. It's the all-time ghost he's chasing in the record books. When you think of era-defining guards, you think of Michael Jordan in the 90s, Kobe Bryant in the 2000s, Stephen Curry in the 2010s and Gilgeous-Alexander in the 2020s.
That said, Gilgeous-Alexander has his critics. But if he can add more jewelry to his hand, then he strengthens his case as a basketball celestial being. We're seeing one of the greatest players ever to lace up the sneakers add to his mythos that will forever be studied in the NBA archives. Don't take that for granted.
The Oklahoma City Thunder certainly don't.
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: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander explains why he's 'the best player in the NBA'
