As All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder prepare for their second NBA Cup matchup, first on the road, against the San Antonio Spurs, Lou Williams had an interesting take on the hype surrounding Gilgeous-Alexander. SGA is off to a phenomenal start this season, especially since the Thunder lost Chet Holmgren in a 127-116 loss to the Golden State Warriors. Since then, he’s averaged 34.5 points, 6.5 assists, 4.0 assists, and 2.2 steals in Oklahoma City’s previous four games. Therefore, why haven’t people been talking about Gilgeous-Alexander’s impressive stretch of games?
Williams addressed the lack of hype surrounding Gilgeous-Alexander on a recent episode of FanDuel TV’s Run It Back.
“He probably prefers it like that. He’s a background type of guy. Talk is cheap. He don’t need the hype anyways. Let the 28, six, and five that you’re averaging tell your story,” Williams said. “That’s how he’s always been. He’s not a media darling. Even when he does his interviews, they do it as a team. They do it by committee. Everything is team-oriented. So, I think he prefers not to be mentioned so much in the individual things.
“When it comes to his talent, let the numbers do the talking. Keep racking up everything that you can. And then, when you’re at the end of the season, and you’re in MVP talks, that’s when everybody will start talking again. Until then, talk is cheap,” Williams concluded.
Despite the Thunder’s latest loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday, they remain atop the Western Conference with an 11-3 record.
Chandler Parsons on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Thunder ascension
Chandler Parsons, alongside Lou Williams, illuminated Thunder’s star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s fast ascension to becoming the All-Star he is today. For Parsons, the leap occurred just last season and will only rise throughout the foreseeable future.
“You know what’s crazy to me? SGA is 26-years-old. I feel like he’s 30, and he made that leap last year to this top-5, top-10 All-NBA-type player, and he’s always been a stud. But, last year, he really made the jump to where he’s a franchise, All-Star, First-Team All-NBA guy,” Parsons said. “And he’s going to continue to be in MVP talks for the foreseeable future because his stats are going to be good, and with this team format of this team, they’re going to be good.
“So, his team success, and the numbers he’s going to put up, he’s always going to be in that close to 30 (points) a game, eight (assists), five (rebounds), which is always going to put him in MVP talks.”
Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 28.5 points, 6.3 assists, 5.5 rebounds, 1.6 steals, and 1.2 blocks this season.
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