Feb. 17, 2026, 7:00 p.m. CT
At this point, the comparisons only grow louder. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has had an all-time run over the last two-plus seasons. He’s skyrocketed to the league’s best players. Now, his competition goes beyond the current field of players. He’s figuring out his place in the NBA’s lore.
Gilgeous-Alexander has been the NBA’s best scorer for four seasons now. He’s been a superb-efficient 30-point machine. Just a handful of games away, the reigning MVP is on the doorstep of usurping Wilt Chamberlain’s NBA-record 20-point streak of 126 consecutive games.
It feels like Gilgeous-Alexander is breaking some sorta scoring record every other night. He might not have the insane highs of a video-game-esque 60-point explosion, but his 30-point floor doesn’t get taken for granted. Especially as the rest of the league has yet to figure out how to slow him down.
Gilgeous-Alexander had one of the most complete individual seasons ever in the 2024-25 campaign. He won the MVP, NBA Finals MVP, an NBA championship and the scoring title. The trophies piled on in the offseason as he was universally viewed as the best pro athlete of the 2025 calendar year.
One of the few folks who can relate to Gilgeous-Alexander is Michael Jordan. Yep. You read that right. MJ. Anytime the former accomplished some rare scoring feat, the latter was always part of the group. The six-time NBA champion is viewed as most people’s greatest of all time. He defined basketball for an entire generation of fans.
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Including Gilgeous-Alexander, who views Jordan as his GOAT. Which makes any comparisons made to him quite the humiliating experience. The one-on-ones don’t stop at just their respective trophy case. Both have similar scoring games from a stylistic standpoint.
Gilgeous-Alexander loves to dissect a defense with his league-best mid-range game. Anytime he pulls up from within the perimeter, you can bank on his jumper swishing through. When defenses sell out to stop that, he has no problem going with his herky-jerky drive game to get to the cup and either finish through traffic or go to the free-throw line.
At the peak of his powers, Jordan had a similar bag. He dominated the 1990s by being a 30-point machine that seldom shot below 50% from the field, which is quite the accomplishment considering he was a meh-sized guard. Along with Gilgeous-Alexander, they each have had big-man-esque efficiency inside the paint. That’s what separates them from the rest of the league’s top scorers.
Despite the parallels, Gilgeous-Alexander slowed down the Jordan comparisons. He fought through a chuckle when he was asked about them in an interview with Billboard.
“Honestly speaking, I don’t really love them. Just because he’s 3-peated twice. What he did for the sneaker business. Everything he’s been to the game,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I think it’s a disservice to compare me seven years in to what he’s been. I don’t love them, but I appreciate them.”
I think that’s fair to say. While Gilgeous-Alexander is already one of the NBA’s best scorers ever, he has quite the resume to fill out if he wants to be in the same breath as Jordan. The good news is, he’s in the middle of his prime. There’s a reason why the Oklahoma City Thunder is viewed as the best bet to rattle off a handful of titles over the next decade.
We’ll see how the rest of Gilgeous-Alexander’s career plays out. Winning an NBA championship now is much more difficult than it was 30 years ago. The talent levels across the league have just been multiplied tenfold since then. But let’s not act like being called Gen Z MJ is some sorta outrageous opinion. The stats back it up. Let’s see if the accolades start to do the same soon.
“It’s greatness at the highest form. That’s what I’m after,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “That’s what I’m chasing. That’s what I’m striving for.”