SGA-MJ comparisons 😯 Can he continue to ‘Be Like Mike’ & make the OKC Thunder a dynasty? | NBA Today

SGA-MJ comparisons 😯 Can he continue to ‘Be Like Mike’ & make the OKC Thunder a dynasty? | NBA Today

And the SB goes to SG. [Applause] I promise you, Tim, if you ever win an award, I will announce it with that that type of that type of energy. It’s a big if. Congratulations though to Shay taking home the SB for best athlete men’s sports. It is rare territory. just the eighth basketball player to take home this award going back to Michael Jordan who won at the very first SBS in 1993. But the trophy case is getting pretty full. This is just the last couple of months. A regular season MVP Western finals finals MVP now two SBS best NBA player and best athlete. We’re not even counting the Larry O’Brien. I know the SB mom probably doesn’t get the same positioning on the shelf maybe as the finals MVPs, but he beat Otani. He beat Saquon. He beat Josh Allen. It feels like the year of Sheay, it’s just continuing. It’s Shay’s world and we’re all just living in it, Tim. Well, and you mentioned Michael Jordan there. Look, if you’re talking about the season that SGA just had, it is the best season by a guard in the NBA start to finish since Michael Jordan’s prime. And I can throw some statistical cases. There you go. Look, that’s the kind of company he’s in. And then you talk about winning the scoring title, the MVP, the finals MVP, you know, leading the Thunder to a championship. Now, the question is, can he be like Mike over the long term? Is this the first of several for the Thunder? That is certainly a possibility. I love that all the Thunder players showed up. They were up for a team award as well, but to support Shay, even in the middle of the summer, everybody was there to sort of make sure their main man knew that we are still here to support you. You were so great on the Hoop Collective podcast during the NBA Finals, Aman, and putting into perspective what Shay what his run meant. Was there a single aspect of it that impressed you the most? Uh, my my biggest thing that I watched with Shay is his ability, we talked about it a little bit before, the people play checkers. Yeah. And he plays chess so well at the end of games that people don’t pay attention to. If you watch Shay at the end of games, you’ll see him pick matchups. But he’s not just picking the matchup for who he could beat off the dribble. Shay already knows I can beat any of you guys off the dribble. One through five, I’m going to get off. I’m gonna get where I want to get to. But you start seeing him pick who is the help man. And I’m like, I only seen a LeBron do that. Uh I I can tell you whether Shay is going to pull up or shoot one of them floaters in between shots. I can tell you how he’s going to do that based upon what matchup he drew, right? but he will not put the game in your hands. And I think that is so impressive. We watch a lot of guys put the game in the ref’s hands, put the game on your your defensive rotation. Shay has figured it out where it’s like, “Oh, I see what y’all are doing. Y’all trying to get the ball in my hands, but I’m shooting a 12-footer from right here. It’s going to have to be a fade to stay away from your shot blocker over here, but I’m going to get here.” And to watch him be elusive to get there is insane. It seems like he has a more maybe mature uh game than a lot of folks his age. And when you say put the game in his hands, he’s also able to execute there because there’s some players you put the game in their hands and sometimes they’re able to get the job done and other times they they fall a little bit short just because they’re working on that consistency. The maturity in Sha’s game, I it’s really poetry to be able to watch. We mentioned that the Thunder as a team, they were up for the best team category. They did come up short. The Super Bowl champion Eagles took that one. I’m u maritally obligated to say go birds here, but Oklahoma City will be in the mix for a while here, especially when we’re talking about the board of governors meeting this week. Adam Silver, he spoke directly about dynasties and about the Thunder. Take a listen. I will say sometimes when I read reports of these um unique champions each year, that then gets translated into some notion that the league doesn’t want dynasties. I’m perfectly comfortable with dynasties. I like what we’re seeing right now. I’m not ready to declare we’re not going to have dynasties. I’m sure Sam Prey isn’t ready to hear that. I’m not ready to hear that either. I think dynasties are good for the NBA, but we are in the midst of an age of parody and this is what the owners wanted. There’s seven different champions that we’ve had in the last seven different seasons. It’s the first time in NBA history there has been those many that many different champions over that seven season span. So, Mr. remarks. The Thunder though, they are set up to potentially buck this trend. How are they going to be able to be a dynasty in a different way than we’ve seen recently? Yeah, Emilica, we have an article up on ESPN.com as far as how Oklahoma City can navigate around this second apron. And the more I wrote wrote this article, the more I believe that yes, they do have the makings to be a dynasty. And here’s why. Shay Gildris Alexander still has two years left on that rookie max contract. He’s playing below the max allowed for a player at his level here. And then you look at what they were able to do with their two players they just extended, Jaylen Williams and Chad Homegr. They protected themselves in case either player earned all NBA honors similar differently than what Evan Moy and Kate Cunningham. There’s no escalator clauses in that Cadet Homegr contract if he earned all NBA. The third thing is remember all these draft picks that are keep on coming in. 13 first round picks over the next seven years, four potentially next year. They’ve done a terrific job as far as staggering their contracts in the future. Yes, there’ll be changes eventually, maybe in the future in Oklahoma City, but the core with the three players with Shay Chet and Jaylen Williams. Those three players under 26 years old will be the constant face of this organization. I’m guilty, Bobby, and you know this, of when the Boston Celtics won a championship, Iman, we sat around this desk and we talked about whether or not they would be the next dynasty in the NBA because looking at it, they had all of the pieces, but they were really really expensive. So, I will I will call out that we’re doing it once again with the Thunder, but do you think that they are built a little bit differently for that type of success? I think they’re built way differently. Okay. Uh yeah, he was giving me the side eye when I said Boston. He said, “Really? Really?” Well, when when you look at Boston, I think we fail to realize uh the competitive nature of two guys that are both supposed to be the main guy. Uh whether we feel that way or not, Jaylen Brown thinks he’s the guy. That’s what makes him good. The finals MVP voters, that’s what makes go, you know. Uh but when you look at Jason Tatum, so easy to build around him, get around him, and have a structured say that he’s the best player. So, I understand it. But when you look at the Thunder, you look at a bunch of guys that are willing to stand behind every guy that goes to do an interview. We’re looking at uh at the end of games, SGA run up the sideline and say, “Jay, you got it. You bring it up. You go ahead. You you take it and and just have that come up and then at the end, we all know SGA is the guy.” And and you look at the dynasty that didn’t happen in Oklahoma City when they had three future MVPs on one roster. And obviously Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, all phenomenal talents. Didn’t necessarily fit together, didn’t enhance the talent of each other. Harden had to go get his own team. Russ and KD, it was kind of a an awkward marriage that, you know, ended because of fit. These guys fit. As Shump was saying, there is a clear pecking order. It is SGA’s team and these other two guys enhance and the culture fits and SGA is the is the uh tone setter for that culture. But this is a team as spectacular as he is. They are a defense first team and oh by the way they’re the reigning champions with a ton of assets from a rebuild still and they don’t even drink alcohol. I just Right. Exactly. So, I mean, maybe they’ll be a little bit better at popping the champagne next year because clearly they are set up to be in that position once again. So, Vegas summer league still very much in action, but the top picks might be done at least up until preseason. Here are the numbers they put up in their first taste of professional basketball across the Utah and Vegas summer leagues. But who knows more of their NBA history? These guys, they have some takes. Okay, we got Steph, Jordan, Brian, KB, LeBron at the one, Jordan at the two, Kawawaii at the three, Tim at the four, Shaq at the five. So, those are alltime starting lineups that they’re putting up there. Who’s got the better list here, Tim? This is some pretty recent history that we’re talking about. say, “Do they know the NBA existed before 1993?” Uh, I’m going to take BJ’s team. All right. Yeah, I’m going to take They’re very similar, actually. Iman’s face right now. Um, well, since we’re making some picks, Iman, I’m just confused if they could have everybody available. You know what? And I think we’re going to chalk it up to to age and recent history, but we thought we’d do a little bit of this, a little bit of that. I’m going to give you two options. You’re going to pick one. Simple. Eman, you’ll start us off here. Two future Hall of Fame point guards are on the available free agent list. So, a different list than those guys we’re doing here. Who has more to offer a team right now? Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook? CP, don’t hate me. Give me Russell Westbrook. CP, don’t kill me. Don’t kill me. Um, Russell Westbrook is one of the fiercest competitors I’ve ever gotten to compete against. Um, and when you talk about somebody that will give himself up and do whatever for the team, I think that he’s a little more suited for that position than a Chris Paul would be. Chris Paul’s pretty much been dominant with the ball the whole time. That’s the way you want him to play and that’s the only way I think he can. I don’t think he could play as efficient as a Russell Westbrook could. Everyone who has played with Russ raves about him uh as a teammate, too. like a lot of folks say that they have really enjoyed him on their team as opposed to uh playing against him. Uh what about the Lakers and the Clippers? They both had some really interesting off seasons. ESPN BET released their win totals. Lakers overunder 48.5. The Clippers 47.5. Tim, who do you think is going to win more games? The Clippers. The Clippers are clearly the best team in LA. And look, it’s not necessarily about star power. Let’s talk about the defensive been on the floor. The Lakers have a whole lot of question marks. The Clippers have probably six guys on their roster who would be the best defender in that Lakers locker room. Lakers Clippers this year in Crypto.com arena could uh [Music]

The NBA Today crew discusses the potential for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder to become a dynasty.

0:00 SGA wins ESPY for Best Male Athlete
3:48 Adam Silver’s comments on dynasties
8:01 This or That?

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