After two rounds, it looked like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder may ease their way back into the NBA Finals.
Instead, after easily disposing of the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers with back-to-back sweeps, the Thunder dropped game 1 of the Western Conference Finals to the San Antonio Spurs 122-115 on Monday night.
Gilgeous-Alexander, who won his second straight MVP this week, had a miserable night, scoring 24 points on just 7-of-23 shooting in the loss. His poor performance revealed a surprising statistic.
NBA World Compares Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Dončić
Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 28.6 points, 7.7 assists, and 3.0 rebounds per game this postseason, but much like last season, he is struggling from beyond the arc (31.6%) and has had a couple of tough nights despite the Thunder winning eight of their nine postseason games.
According to Underdog Sports, “Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has a -35.6 net on-off rating in this year’s playoffs,” which “is the lowest mark of any qualified player still remaining in the postseason.”
The NBA world took that information and ran with it, with some comparing Gilgeous-Alexander to another MVP candidate in Lakers star Luka Dončić.
Luka Dončić Stan(d) compared SGA to Dončić, claiming he’d never post such poor numbers.
Luka would never. Keep your fake MVPs tho https://t.co/flacp6Jahh
— Luka Doncic Last Stan(d) (@LukaDoncicStanD) May 20, 2026
Kyrie_Donic agreed, saying SGA isn’t as valuable as he seems.
“Lol yet they were 8-0 in the first 2 rounds of the playoffs,” he wrote. “Least Valuable MVP in history.”
Lol yet they were 8-0 in the first 2 rounds of the playoffs
Least Valuable MVP in history https://t.co/NDukgMfCgV
— Luka Revenge Tour (@Kyrie_Doncic) May 20, 2026
Asaad agreed.
“😭 Least valuable player in the @NBA right now,” they said.
Bron23xgoat referred to SGA as a “role player.”
“A+ role player on a super loaded team.”
A+ role player on a super loaded team https://t.co/lamuWALoxa
— #5ontheway (@bron23xgoat) May 20, 2026
Obviously, no one is taking these claims about Gilgeous-Alexander completely seriously. After all, he didn’t just take home his second MVP this season. Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 31.1 points, 6.6 assists, and 4.3 rebounds per game while shooting a blistering 55.3% from the field, which was a career-high, 38.6% from three, and 87.9% from the free-throw line.
However, his struggles at times, particularly with his three-point shot, have to be at least somewhat of a concern considering the machine they are currently up against in Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs. In the Spurs’ game 1 victory, Wembanyama scored 41 points, pulled down 24 rebounds, dished out 3 assists, and blocked 3 shots.
Game 2 between the Spurs and Thunder tips off at 8:30 p.m. ET and can be seen on NBC and Peacock.
