OKC Thunder Fans Need to Relax on Zach Lowe's 'Disrespect' of Superstar

The Oklahoma City Thunder have one of the best players in the world, but not everything in the NBA is a sign of disrespect. Zach Lowe is under fire for a comparison of Luka Doncic and Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Wrongfully so.

Apr 6, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) drives down the court beside Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

This weekend, the Los Angeles Lakers inked superstar Luka Doncic to a three-year $165 million contract extension with a player option in the 2028 season. A big win for the Purple and Gold after Doncic was traded to LaLa Land back in February from the Dallas Mavericks.

Doncic is off to a historic start in his NBA career, already being named to five All-Star teams, as many All-NBA squads, a scoring championship, a Western Conference Finals MVP and Rookie of the Year honors.

The still just 26-year-old guard has made two Western Conference Finals runs with the Dallas Mavericks and fell short in the 2024 NBA Finals to the Boston Celtics.

After the trade to the Lakers, Doncic and company flamed out in the first round of the NBA Playoffs after capturing the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference with 50 wins on their resume.

Now, Doncic is not only a paid man but in the best shape of his life as he goes on a PR tour showing off his new shoes, new body, and now, new contract. This summer has included stops in Men's Health Magazine, the Yankees broadcast booth and on The Today show.

There is no question that Doncic is one of the best players in the league and is quickly climbing up the All-time great ladder. In his seven-year career, Doncic is averaging 28 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and two stocks per game over the course of the 450 NBA contests.

This led NBA pundit Zach Lowe to hope on his podcast and contextualize the importance of this signing for the Los Angeles Lakers. Tabbing Doncic as a top-three player in the world.

"Even now, after watching OKC win the chip, would you take Luka over SGA? A year ago, I would’ve taken Luka. Now, I don't think it’s an open-and-shut case, despite everything SGA just did. That's how good Luka is," Lowe said on the Zach Lowe Podcast.

The example being used of Gilgeous-Alexander has caused Thunder fans to grow outraged, defending its superstar who just posted a historic season. The OKC Thunder guard bagged NBA MVP, Western Conference Finals MVP, NBA Finals MVP, the scoring title and posted stats that can only be compared to Michael Jordan.

Lowe is right, Doncic is a top three player in the world but so is Gilgeous-Alexander. Thunder fans have a right to cling to its stars spot in that top three assuming that the alternative would be pointing the finger to Giannis Antetokounmpo or Nikola Jokic.

Though, the league is so talent-rich someone has to fall outside the three. It doesn't feel right for any of the above mentioned players to land as the fourth best hooper, but someone has to.

It isn't a massive deal, there isn't really any consequence to these player rankings.

No one should be outraged by Lowe's comments even if he bumped Gilgeous-Alexander out of the top three players in the league. It is a high compliment that the podcaster didn't just immediately pick Doncic ahead of the Thunder superstar.

The little secret about NBA media is, anyone reading this article or listening to podcast can simply craft their own lists. It means just as much in the grand scheme of things.