D’Angelo Russell Calls Shai Gilgeous-Alexander the Hardest Player to Guard
It seems like every day now, another player around the league recognizes Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as one of the game's best. After an MVP-like season, it’s hard to ignore his rise to stardom and just how good he is at 25 years old. With the Thunder on the brink of competing in the NBA playoffs, it’s likely that Gilgeous-Alexander’s attention will skyrocket soon.
It’s no secret that Patrick Beverly has been a big fan of Gilgeous-Alexander’s game through the years. When the two were on the Clippers together, Beverly was outspoken about SGA’s potential and has been a big supporter ever since.
Beverly has had several NBA stars on his podcast recently, and this past week, he brought on Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell to analyze happenings around the NBA. Russell raved about Gilgeous-Alexander’s game and had a few words about the Thunder too.
“Shai’s the most underrated player in the league, bro,” Russell said. “He got that Kobe sh*t. Hardest player to guard in the league.”
It’s hard to call Gilgeous-Alexander underrated anymore after his MVP-type season in 2022-23. He averaged 31.4 points and 5.5 assists per game en route to an All-NBA First Team selection. He was also an All-Star for the first time in his career, receiving the recognition he has deserved the last few years.
In addition to Gilgeous-Alexander’s unbelievable talent, Mark Daigneault does a terrific job at making sure he’s in a great spot to succeed. Oklahoma City’s offense, and transition offense, help SGA gets to his spots on the court.
“Ask Pat, listen,” Russell said. “OKC does this thing off the free throw line where we shoot the free throw, Shai’s at the free throw line, and they put all the other guys in the corner.
“It’s a full court, one-on-one guarding Shai. They do it every game, all game, and you still can’t stop it. He unguardable.”
With Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams, Oklahoma City has one of the best young cores in the NBA. The games are only going to get bigger, especially if the players continue to progress. Russell and Beverly are expecting big things.
“They gonna be good,” Russell said.
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