The Oklahoma City Thunder are on a roll this postseason, and so is the praise for their star guard, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. With every game, the 2025 NBA MVP stacks up moments that feel historic, and now, one former Thunder player has taken that a step further.
As the team inches closer to the NBA championship, former Thunder center Kendrick Perkins added to the buzz with a bold take on SGA’s place in franchise history. His bold claim after Game 2 has sparked plenty of conversation, and it might shift how people view the team’s all-time greats.
Kendrick Perkins Calls Shai Gilgeous-Alexander the ‘Most Unguardable’ NBA Player
Perkins made sure everyone was listening when he delivered his latest hot take on national TV. The former Thunder center took his admiration for Gilgeous-Alexander to a whole new level, declaring him the greatest player in the Thunder’s history.
“Let’s talk about SGA. The greatest Thunder of all time,” Perkins began, sending social media into a frenzy. And he didn’t stop there. “He already joined the company of Michael Jordan this year… Now he holds up the MVP trophy. And now he’s on his way to going to the NBA Finals, and he’s going to win the NBA championship, and he’s going to become Finals MVP.”
Kendrick Perkins says SGA is the greatest Thunder player of all time 👀
(h/t @MrBuckBuckNBA) pic.twitter.com/tJnfHWgIHN
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral)
Perkins doubled down on his praise, calling SGA the most unguardable offensive player in the league. “We’re watching a young man right now who is the best perimeter player in the game of basketball on the offensive end. Right now, the way that he’s playing, he’s unguardable. It’s not gonna stop.”
Having played alongside Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook during OKC’s 2012 Finals run, Perkins has seen the franchise’s elite up close. That’s what makes his endorsement of Gilgeous-Alexander even more attention-grabbing and controversial.
Perkins may not have mentioned Durant directly in his bold SGA praise, but the message appears to be loud and clear and the timing couldn’t be more intriguing.
Just a day earlier, Durant had responded to a completely different NBA Central post that reignited debates about the 2012 Thunder squad. In the post, Kenyon Martin called Perkins a “liability” on that Finals team. Perk clapped back hard, saying he helped lock up legends like Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, and Tim Duncan, and even claimed he held his own on switches against Tony Parker and Manu Ginóbili.
That’s when KD entered the chat, replying:
“The actual real MVP”
Durant’s comment could be a callback to his speech when he won the 2014 NBA MVP and called his mother, Wanda, “the real MVP.”
Whether that tweet was a preemptive shade or just a coincidence, the timing couldn’t be juicier. After all, Durant still holds one of the strongest résumés in Thunder history. Over nine seasons, he averaged 27.4 points per game and claimed a league MVP in 2014.
The 15-time NBA All-Star also led the team to the 2012 NBA Finals and multiple deep playoff runs, leaving a massive legacy behind despite how his exit unfolded.
Meanwhile, SGA is still writing his story. But it’s a good one. He dropped 38 points, eight assists, and three steals in Game 2 against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Thunder now lead the series 2-0 and are two wins away from their first Finals appearance in over a decade.
And that’s not all – SGA also just made First-Team All-NBA and is coming off a season where he led OKC to one of the best regular-season records in franchise history. Add his MVP win, and Perkins’ praise doesn’t feel entirely out of bounds. Still, “greatest ever” is a title that opens the floodgates.
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To many, Durant remains the benchmark. But if SGA brings home a championship and maybe even a Finals MVP – those conversations are going to get real uncomfortable for Thunder fans still holding onto the KD era.
Meanwhile, Durant hasn’t addressed Perkins’ claim about SGA being the greatest Thunder player, at least not yet. But given his history of clapping back, especially when it involves Perkins, don’t be surprised if he comes out with all guns blazing.
