After completing one of the greatest individual seasons, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has entered the pantheon of all-time greats. He won about every award imaginable, from MVP to NBA Finals MVP. When you do that, you’ve earned the right to be mentioned with guys like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
That said, though, some NBA legends believe Gilgeous-Alexander still contrasts Jordan and Bryant for reasons beyond career statistics and accolades. Charles Barkley recently told the difference between him and other Hall-of-Fame players on Bill Simmons’ podcast.
“The three best players I’ve ever seen are Michael, Kobe and LeBron, and I’ll tell you the difference between the three. Michael and Kobe were dangerous. They will kill your a–,” Barkley said. “LeBron is a nice guy, and that’s not a knock. He’s still great, great, great, but he’s a nice guy. Michael and Kobe weren’t nice guys. They’re different.”
Barkley later on said Gilgeous-Alexander resembled LeBron James closer to his in-game mentality. Guessing on what he meant, the NBA media personality believes Jordan and Bryant were bucket-getters in the clutch and when the moment called for it.
“The one thing about OKC, even though I think Shai is a great, great player. To me, he’s more like LeBron,” Barkley said. “He’s a really nice guy. He’s not out there trying to kill you.”
Barkley is great and has always been one of the Thunder’s top supporters, but I don’t necessarily know how true that is. In an NBA Finals Game 7 — the highest of high stakes — he finished with 29 points and 12 assists. That was nearly half their point production caused by himself.
Either way, it’s good to see Gilgeous-Alexander be mentioned in the same sentence as James, Jordan and Bryant. It shows how quickly he’s accelerated to all-time status despite an unconventional path to superstardom. Expect those conversations to get louder as he’s in his prime.