‘Championship or bust’: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wants more than an MVP in OKC this season

Giannis Antetokounmpo had one request before the All-Star Game in February. 

“Just shake my hand,” Antetokounmpo told Shai Gilgeous-Alexander while they were in the locker room. “I just want a little bit of aura.”

Antetokounmpo, a two-time MVP,  then sauntered around the locker room, imitating the Oklahoma City Thunder superstar. He moved with an unmistakable swagger. He pretended to dribble a basketball twice, step-back with his left foot, hesitate and then shoot a jumper. 

Gilgeous-Alexander laughed at the show.

All eyes are on Gilgeous-Alexander this season, even in a room filled with some of the league’s biggest stars. Anthony Edwards called him the “MVP of the NBA” after he scored 40 points in a win over Minnesota on New Year’s Eve. 

A fan even asked Gilgeous-Alexander to sign his baby earlier this season.

Gilgeous-Alexander has transformed from a player who was overlooked for much of his career into a full blown superstar. He’s in a two-horse race with Nikola Jokic for the MVP Award, and has led the Thunder to first-place in the Western Conference with a record of 56-12.

But for him, none of that matters. 

“Championship or bust,” Gilgeous-Alexander said in an exclusive interview with FOX Sports. “If we don’t win, it’s a failure.”

In many ways, Gilgeous-Alexander is the perfect superstar for the Thunder, whose culture is built around a team-first mentality. He usually does his postgame TV interviews alongside his teammates, which is a stark contrast from the norm. And he often credits them for his success.

In fact, amid his meteoric ascension, one thing has caught the attention of those around him more than his gaudy stats.

He hasn’t changed much.

“During this whole rise, he has been the exact same guy,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “If anything, he has become more accessible and relatable to his teammates… [Superstars] detach, just naturally. It’s not their fault. But the world detaches them from the team. If the intention is staying inside the team, he does that.”

Gilgeous-Alexander cares about basketball, his family and fashion. He wants to win a championship and he wants to look good while doing it. Everything else pales in comparison, including the MVP Award.

In fact, when asked if he deserves it this season, he tepidly advocated for himself but stopped short of directly answering the query. 

“I’ve always felt like I was one of the top players in the league,” Gilgeous-Alexander told FOX Sports. “Very confident in my game. Very confident in how hard I work. I think I go out there and show it on a nightly basis.”

He promotes himself much louder on the court. 

This season, the 26-year-old guard is leading the league in scoring, averaging a career-high 33 points on 52.6 percent shooting, alongside 5.0 rebounds and 6.2 assists. He has scored at least 40 points 11 times this season, and at least 50 points four times. 

But don’t think it came easy. Gilgeous-Alexander had to fight for this moment. 

He didn’t make his high school varsity basketball team as a freshman. He was seventh-ranked of the seven recruits who were signed to Kentucky in 2017, and the only one among them who didn’t have a five-star rating. Then, the Clippers dealt him to the Thunder for Paul George in 2019 after just a single season in Los Angeles. 

At every turn, he proved that he was vastly underrated. 

At Kentucky, Gilgeous-Alexander became the Wildcats’ best player. With the Clippers, he clawed his way into the starting lineup midway through his rookie season. And last season, even George, a nine-time All-Star, acknowledged after a game against Oklahoma City that the Thunder “won that trade” involving them, considering the Clippers gave up five first-round picks and a future MVP contender.  

But still, Gilgeous-Alexander finds it easier to brag about his teammates than himself. Some might be dubious that a man who’s atop the league and is comfortable modeling in underwear for Kim Kardashian’s SKIMS brand can be so down-to-earth. 

He owes that to his parents, especially his mother, Charmaigne, who used to call the coaching staff at Kentucky when he started excelling, urging them to temper their excitement so his head didn’t get too big. 

“My parents always made sure that we understood, no matter who you are or what you do, you’re not better or worse than anybody,” Gilgeous-Alexander told FOX Sports. “I guess that’s just the guy I am. No matter what I want to accomplish in this game, I need my teammates and I know that. I need them just as much as they need me. So, there’s no reason to get big-headed.”

It also helps that Gilgeous-Alexander has spent six of his seven seasons with the Thunder, which is one of the few organizations in the NBA that puts the emphasis on the team over the superstar. Chet Holmgren believes the Thunder got lucky in finding a leader who so perfectly matches their culture. 

“If you’re not a good person, you don’t end up playing for the Thunder,” Holmgren said. “He’s a testament to that because he has every opportunity to act however he wants and do whatever he wants because you can’t really say much because you need him to go out there and put up a lot of buckets the next night. But he doesn’t do that. He’s an extremely humble guy and he’s all about basketball.”

As for the trade that sent him to the Thunder? That’s still a sore spot for the Clippers organization. But few thought he would develop into this. 

Interestingly enough, one of the first people who believed in him was former NBA great Jerry West, who served as a consultant for the Clippers before he died in 2024. West encouraged the team to trade for Gilgeous-Alexander the same day Charlotte selected him with the 11th overall pick in the 2018 draft. 

West, famously, has a keen eye for recognizing talent, including orchestrating the trade that brought a brash young star named Kobe Bryant to the Lakers in 1996.

During Gilgeous-Alexander’s rookie season with the Clippers, he developed into a promising young player. But even former Clippers coach Doc Rivers didn’t hesitate when asked if he thought Gilgeous-Alexander would grow into a superstar. 

“I would love to lie and say absolutely,” Rivers said, adding that only one person within the organization truly foresaw his potential. “[Assistant coach] Sam Cassell was the highest [on him]. He said from Day 1, he wasn’t in favor of the trade – like, in a strong way.”

Things have worked out for both the Thunder and Gilgeous-Alexander. 

The Thunder helped unlock Gilgeous-Alexander’s game, putting the perfect pieces around him. In 2019, they signed Lu Dort, who’s a strong 3-point shooter and wing defender. In 2022, they drafted skilled center Chet Homgren (No. 2) and two-way sensation Jalen Williams (No. 12). And last summer, they acquired veterans Isiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso.  

Now, the Thunder have transformed from a rebuilding franchise into real championship contenders. 

In the meantime, Gilgeous-Alexander has grown into a wizard at changing pace, an elite playmaker, an artistic scorer, and a solid defender, who seemingly pirouettes around defenses with a mix of speed and agility.

Gilgeous-Alexander believes he landed in the perfect spot. Though, he staunchly rejects the idea that if he had played elsewhere, things would’ve played out differently for him. 

“I think I would’ve became who I am regardless,” Gilgeous-Alexander told FOX Sports. “I think regardless of my circumstances, wherever I’ve been thrown in my whole career, from when I was in ninth grade, getting cut, I’ve always focused on developing, I’ve always worked super hard and I’ve always continued to improve. So I always thought no matter what fire I was thrown into, I’ll be all right.”

Gilgeous-Alexander’s longtime trainer, Olin Simplis, echoed that. In fact, if anything, he believes Gilgeous-Alexander would’ve become a household name sooner if he had remained in Los Angeles because he would’ve had more eyes on him. He argued that Gilgeous-Alexander’s accomplishments have flown under-the-radar, especially last season.

“He didn’t have another All-Star or All-NBA player alongside him and they were No. 1 in the West,” Simplis said of the Thunder. “He should be going for back-to-back MVPs, honestly.”

[2024-25 NBA MVP odds: SGA running away from Jokić]

Simplis, who began working with Gilgeous-Alexander after his freshman year at Kentucky, said he immediately recognized that he was destined for greatness. 

He recalled how when Gilgeous-Alexander was 19 years old, he kept messing up while trying to do a sidestep followed by a getaway. For three straight days, Gilgeous-Alexander arrived at the gym at 6 a.m., doing the move over and over again until he added it to his arsenal.

Another time, Simplis organized a free-throw contest with draft prospects, with the winner receiving $20. To this day, Simplis still thinks about the intensity in which Gilgeous-Alexander approached that drill.

“He’s just one of those kids, you tell him one thing, he’s going to do it,” Simplis said. “He’s going to do it until he has mastered it. His mindset is on par with the stories you hear of Kobe Bryant.”

It has all worked out for Gilgeous-Alexander, who has grown from a teenager who didn’t make his high school varsity team into being on a shortlist to become a future face of the league.

But even though he has avoided getting big-headed, he also isn’t one for false humility. 

When asked to reflect on his journey, he couldn’t help but flash a wide grin and shake his head in disbelief. 

“It’s inspiring to myself just to see how far I’ve come,” he said.

Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.

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