Over the last few years, OKC Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has catapulted himself into the upper echelon of the league's elite talents.
With his sensational offensive abilities, under-the-radar defensive skills, and truly captivating aura, there's a strong case to be made that the three-time All-Star is the best all-around player the game currently has to offer.
His ridiculous averages of 32.4 points, 6.2 assists, 5.2 rebounds, 1.9 steals, and 1.0 blocks on 52.4 percent shooting from the floor and 36.4 percent shooting from deep only strengthen such a claim.
And yet, despite this, in the recent release of the NBA 99, FanSided's annual player power rankings, Gilgeous-Alexander still finds himself falling behind in the pecking order, as he slots in at number three behind top-ranked Nikola Jokic and runner-up Giannis Antetokounmpo.
With this, it begs the question: What would it take for the Thunder star to usurp both of these all-world ballers in "best player" conversations?
Thunder star falls behind Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo in NBA 99
As of this writing, all signs point to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander being the front-runner to take home the league's illustrious MVP award this season, an achievement many believe he should have earned last year.
Should he end up being given the Michael Jordan Trophy, each of the top three players on the NBA 99 will have been bestowed such honors.
Of course, even with this possible achievement, there's no guarantee that he would then be thrust to the top of the player leaderboard, as there would still be the evergreen argument that Jokic and Giannis have multiple (three and two, respectively,), while the latter has also been crowned Defensive Player of the Year.
On top of this, both are proven NBA Champions with Finals MVP honors attached to their illustrious, Hall of Fame-bound resumes.
Even with FanSided's Chris Kline graciously noting in his assessment of the guard that the "burden he carries on both ends of the court" for this top-seeded Thunder team "is difficult to fathom," it still doesn't give him the go ahead to be ranked as the top player in the association.
So what might?
As alluded to already, simply winning one Most Valuable Player award may not be enough on its own to move him ahead of the likes of Giannis and Jokic.
A potential turnaround solution to lay his early claim for the top spot on next year's list could come in the form of him winning regular season MVP, guiding the Thunder to their first championship since 1979, winning Finals MVP, being named to his third consecutive All-NBA Team and his first-ever NBA All-Defensive Team all by the end of the 2024-25 season.
Though this to-do list may seem rather steep on the surface, when considering how the betting odds are shaping up in all these aforementioned categories, not only does him achieving these goals seem possible but, frankly, probable.
Even if he accomplishes three of the five, there would still be a case for his place atop the totem pole in 2025-26. However, coming away with all five should all but guarentee it.