He has a lot to be thankful for in seven seasons in the National Basketball Association, but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander values the mentorship of a former teammate the most.
He entered the league in 2018 as a first-round pick from the University of Kentucky.
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The native Canadian started his career with the Los Angeles Clippers for the 2018-19 season, but then took off after getting traded to Oklahoma City. Since then, he’s developed into one of the most talented young faces in the NBA. Alexander is a three-time All-Star, three-time All-NBA First Team selection, and earned Most Valuable Player honors. He led the Thunder to the best record in the NBA this season, advancing to the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. SGA guided the team to winning series over Memphis and Denver. Oklahoma City is now up 2-0 on Minnesota in the Western Conference Finals.
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After winning game two, Alexander saw someone that made him smile.
Chris Paul, who may arguably go down as the best point guard of his generation, played with Alexander in the 2019-20 season.
Alexander said he learned a lot from Paul.
SGA on seeing CP3 courtside????
“Caught me off guard. I had to double take. ‘Who is that sitting with my wife?’ I got a little tight. But then I seen it was Chris I was like ‘Alright cool.'”pic.twitter.com/HvK7WOFEKT
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) May 23, 2025
“It caught me off guard. I had to double take,” Alexander said about seeing Paul after game two versus Minnesota.
“I’m like ‘Who is that sitting with my wife?’ I got a little tight. But then I seen it was Chris, I was like ‘Alright cool.’ He was not only a big brother, a mentor, but he was also a friend. He was the first guy in my life I was close with that achieved the things I wanted to achieve. I lean on him for advice and not only basketball advice, but business advice, taking care of your body, handling a family when they don’t live with you. … There are so many things that you deal with as an NBA player, especially of his caliber, that goes under the radar. His guidance with that has been great. He has been special just being there as a friend.”
He never won an NBA Championship, but seeing his friend on the verge of one must be cool for Paul.
Alexander leads the Thunder into Game 3 on Saturday versus the Timberwolves.
Stephen M. Smith is a writer for Ball Exclusives. You can follow him on X via @CoachingMSmith.
