Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is all set to win back-to-back MVP awards. The Oklahoma City Thunder are the best in the league right now, for the second straight season. And the conversation around SGA has quietly shifted from “elite player” to something considerably bigger.
NFL legend Emmanuel Acho puts it into words, without holding back on anything.
Emmanuel Acho Makes Bold SGA All-Time Top 10 Case
With SGA already a reigning champion and MVP, Emmanuel Acho’s comments do not seem unrealistic. He might as well win the MVP award this year as well. If OKC goes deep into the playoffs, Acho believes it’s time we have an unavoidable all-time great conversation.
He started off, “SGA is on the verge of being a top 10 player of all-time. If SGA wins another championship.”
He then moved on to compare SGA to some of the league’s all-time greats. “Think about the players who have back-to-back championships and league MVPs. Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Bill Russell, Hakeem Olajuwon, these are all top 12 players. So if SGA wins himself another championship, even if he doesn’t get selected for MVP, he joins the list of Kevin Durant, Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Bill Russell, and Kobe Bryant. These are the top 10 to top 12 players in the league.”
Acho emphatically proclaims: “SGA is not just a good player, SGA is not just a great player, SGA is a legendary player… SGA does not get the credit he deserves.”
Numbers do back up Acho’s comments for SGA. This season, Shai averaged 31.1 points, 6.6 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.4 steals on 55.3% shooting from the field.
He is averaging 30+ points per game for the fourth consecutive season now. It’s feat that’s not been achieved since Michael Jordan.
Even the King, LeBron James, could not hold himself back from commenting on SGA. As he watched from outside, he called SGA’s efficiency “Jordan-esque” on the Mind the Game podcast.
And it’s not just LeBron and Acho; Richard Jefferson also made a similar case about Shai on the Road Trippin’ Show. He pointed to SGA’s resume, saying, “Two regular season MVPs, two Finals MVPs… we’re talking about just comparisons, right? Kevin Durant has one regular-season MVP and multiple scoring titles. Shai looks like he’s going to have multiple scoring titles.”
The threshold Acho and the others are pointing to is quite real. Back-to-back MVPs and championships are a short list. Jordan, LeBron, Kobe, Durant, Russell, Olajuwon. That’s a big company SGA would walk into.
He has already checked the first box. Last season, he won the MVP and the championship with OKC. This season, he’s the overwhelming favorite with great odds.
The Thunder has finished with a massive record under his reign. They are on the verge of becoming just the third franchise in the league’s history to win 65 games in back-to-back seasons, joining the Bulls and the Warriors.
Playoffs begin April 19. SGA is almost there. All he needs to do is apply himself once again to push through the elite company.
