After taking part in a dominant title run just last year and a red-hot start to their follow-up 2025-2026 campaign, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the OKC Thunder seem to be living rent-free in the heads of opposing teams and rival pundits.
This mental ownage was on full display after Celtics star Jaylen Brown dropped 50 points on the Clippers Friday night, as former NBA fan favorite and current NBC Sports Boston lead analyst Brian Scalabrine decided this to be the perfect time to take a cheap shot at the reigning MVP.
“If Shai lost Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Alex Caruso, would he be doing what Jaylen Brown is? That’s why JB is the MVP,” Scalabrine said.
The claim that Shai is reliant on his supporting cast couldn't be more baseless, as it comes on the heels of the Thunder's second-in-command, Jalen Williams, missing the first 19 games of the season.
Throughout this span, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 32.6 points, 6.6 assists, and 4.9 rebounds per game as he led the Thunder to a historic 18-1 record. In those contests, the point guard was relied upon even more heavily than last year.
The majority of Shai's MVP and championship run also came without his big man, Chet Holmgren, who missed 50 games due largely to a right iliac wing fracture.
In the 46 games last year in which he played without Chet in the lineup, the MVP averaged 34.7 points, 6.3 assists, and 5.0 rebounds, as the Thunder finished first in the Western Conference over the Houston Rockets by a comfortable 16 games.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has already led Thunder to unbelievable heights
If his regular-season averages weren't enough, Shai won a ring with a completely hobbled supporting cast. His two most trusted running mates faced their fair share of struggles as they battled through varying degrees of injuries.
Holmgren was a shell of himself after his grueling hip ailment, as he averaged just 13.6 points per game in February and 13.2 points in March, and he struggled mightily in the Finals, averaging just 12.3 points per game.
Jalen Williams, meanwhile, played the majority of the postseason with a torn scapholunate ligament in his right wrist, which required surgery during the summer.
Meanwhile, Shai remained the steady hand throughout, averaging 29.9 points, 6.5 assists, and 5.3 rebounds per game.
Take on SGA is understandable, yet unsubstantiated
It is easy to understand why the Boston analyst would go to the defense of Jaylen Brown, as he has put the Celtics on his back while co-star Jayson Tatum nurses a torn Achilles.
However, it is peculiar to throw someone under the bus who is currently the odds-on favorite to win MVP and is unquestionably leading the charge for the league's top-seeded Thunder.
Scalabrine will have the opportunity to eat his words in March, when the Celtics travel to Oklahoma City to take on the reigning champs.