OKC Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has faced no shortage of shade, accusations, and slander this season, but one prominent critic might have officially risen above the rest.
Boston Celtics cornerstone Jaylen Brown has seemingly made it his mission to undermine Gilgeous-Alexander in every way. Since their first matchup earlier this month, Brown has made no shortage of headlines.
He has gone on record criticizing the reigning MVP for his foul-baiting, only to follow this up by personally racking up a total of 28 free throws in his two games against OKC.
He has shown his demonstrative side during those contests, constantly throwing up his arms in frustration at every Shai whistle and going as far as to yell, "That's not basketball" in reference to the point guard's play.
It's clear that the Celtics wing has SGA on his mind, and he isn't going away anytime soon.
Brown has shown a spiteful side of himself over the past month that NBA fans aren't used to seeing out of him. Widely considered one of the smartest and hard-working players in the NBA, the former Finals MVP is turning himself into a villain in real time.
However, unfortunately for him, his villain arc is still stuck in the shadows of Gilgeous-Alexander's glory.
Jaylen Brown still can't outshine Thunder superstar
Despite Jaylen Brown's efforts, he still has been unable to escape SGA's shadow. Even during a highly problematic loss on Wednesday night, Gilgeous-Alexander lit up the scoreboard with his unheralded efficiency. The Thunder point guard scored 33 points on 10-for-12 shooting from the floor and 3-for-4 shooting from the perimeter.
Brown dropped 31 points on 17 shots while recording his second straight game against the Thunder with 14 free-throw attempts.
As much as he refuses to admit it, Brown has been outdone by his OKC nemesis in virtually every way possible this season. The Thunder star leads him in all offensive categories, both in volume and efficiency.
Even on the defensive side of the ball, an aspect of the game that Brown hangs his hat on, Shai has the advantage. Gilgeous-Alexander's defensive rating is 7.2 points better than Brown's. On an individual basis, the latter has a 42.8 percent defensive field goal percentage.
Shai's is 42.5 percent.
As much grief as it may be causing Brown, SGA still leads him in the MVP race by a wide margin. As a matter of fact, the forward isn't even second. That honor currently belongs to Luka Doncic.
Still, Brown's personal vendetta against the current favorite has been made clear, and he seems perfectly fine playing the role of a heel in someone else's heroic journey.