Is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander having the greatest NBA season ever?
The idea that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander might be authoring the greatest season in NBA history sounds hyperbolic at first, yet his year is forcing a serious reconsideration of where the bar actually sits.
The “greatest ever” conversation is usually reserved for a short list of mythical campaigns: peak Michael Jordan, peak LeBron James, peak Stephen Curry, a dominant Shaquille O’Neal, a transcendent Giannis Antetokounmpo or Nikola Jokić. Those seasons combined overwhelming individual numbers with clear two-way impact and team success. Gilgeous-Alexander is steadily checking each of those boxes.
Offensively, he has become one of the league’s most inevitable scorers without relying on traditional superstar advantages. He doesn’t overwhelm defenders with raw power or limitless three-point volume. Instead, he weaponizes pace, footwork, and timing, living in the mid-range and at the rim while maintaining elite efficiency. That blend of high usage and high efficiency is the foundation of any “all-time season” case.
What elevates his argument is the completeness of his game. Gilgeous-Alexander isn’t just a bucket; he organizes the offense, reads the floor with patience, and creates advantages that ripple through every Thunder possession. On the other end, he has emerged as one of the league’s most disruptive perimeter defenders, turning long arms and sharp instincts into deflections, steals, and transition opportunities. The rare two-way balance places him in the lineage of the most impactful guards the league has seen.
Context matters, though. Many of the seasons we call the greatest are defined by playoff dominance and championships, not just regular-season brilliance. Gilgeous-Alexander is still writing that part of the story. For now, his year feels less like a finished masterpiece and more like a breakthrough moment, the point where a rising star clearly enters the inner circle.
Is this definitively the greatest season ever? Probably not yet. But it is undeniably one of the most impressive modern campaigns, and it has placed Shai firmly in a conversation that once felt reserved for legends.
The “greatest ever” conversation is usually reserved for a short list of mythical campaigns: peak Michael Jordan, peak LeBron James, peak Stephen Curry, a dominant Shaquille O’Neal, a transcendent Giannis Antetokounmpo or Nikola Jokić. Those seasons combined overwhelming individual numbers with clear two-way impact and team success. Gilgeous-Alexander is steadily checking each of those boxes.
Offensively, he has become one of the league’s most inevitable scorers without relying on traditional superstar advantages. He doesn’t overwhelm defenders with raw power or limitless three-point volume. Instead, he weaponizes pace, footwork, and timing, living in the mid-range and at the rim while maintaining elite efficiency. That blend of high usage and high efficiency is the foundation of any “all-time season” case.
What elevates his argument is the completeness of his game. Gilgeous-Alexander isn’t just a bucket; he organizes the offense, reads the floor with patience, and creates advantages that ripple through every Thunder possession. On the other end, he has emerged as one of the league’s most disruptive perimeter defenders, turning long arms and sharp instincts into deflections, steals, and transition opportunities. The rare two-way balance places him in the lineage of the most impactful guards the league has seen.
Context matters, though. Many of the seasons we call the greatest are defined by playoff dominance and championships, not just regular-season brilliance. Gilgeous-Alexander is still writing that part of the story. For now, his year feels less like a finished masterpiece and more like a breakthrough moment, the point where a rising star clearly enters the inner circle.
Is this definitively the greatest season ever? Probably not yet. But it is undeniably one of the most impressive modern campaigns, and it has placed Shai firmly in a conversation that once felt reserved for legends.
