Nick Wright Reveals Where He Ranks Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Among NBA Greats
On Sunday, the NBA revealed that multi-time Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander earned his second consecutive NBA Most Valuable Player Award.
The award arrived a night before OKC would play the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, for a chance to get to the NBA Finals and win their second-straight championship.
The 6-foot-6 OKC guard averaged 31.3 points, 6.6 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 55.3 percent field goal shooting for the 2025-26 season, leading the Thunder to a 64-18 record and No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s second MVP has sparked debate about whether he’s among the best guards in league history. According to Nick Wright, SGA is holding quite a spot on an all-time list after emerging as one of the top players in the NBA over the past several seasons.
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“Greatest guards in the NBA. This is as of this moment, today,” Wright said, as his list appeared on screen, showing Gilgeous-Alexander as the ninth-best guard ever.
“You could argue if he wins another title, he leaps a few of the guys in front of him,” the FS1 analyst told his co-stars.
“It’s almost inarguable that if they [OKC] wins the title, he leaps [Dwyane] Wade,” Wright said.
He and his FS1 colleague, Chris Broussard, took things a step further, suggesting that some might call SGA the fifth-best guard ever in a few months if he’s won a second championship. They said it would be “an allowable opinion” to have.
According to the potential argument some might have, SGA would move past not only Wade but also Oscar Robertson, Isiah Thomas, and the NBA logo’s inspiration, Jerry West.
The central point of this argument is that without Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder wouldn’t have won a championship last year or be on the verge of another this year. That certainly puts him in elite company with greats like Stephen Curry, Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, and Michael Jordan.
They’re all multi-time MVPs and have each won four or more championships. SGA might be on the way to doing that, based on how strong this Thunder dynasty has looked in recent seasons.
They’ll face a massive test with Stephon Castle, Victor Wembanyama, and the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals beginning with Game 1 at 8:30 p.m. EST on Monday.
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This story was originally published May 18, 2026 at 5:11 PM.