Image Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Oklahoma City Thunder Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Reveals his Drive to be Better Than Kobe Bryant

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander appeared on the cover page of GQ Magazine's recent edition.

Image Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander spoke on his drive to be better than the NBA legend Kobe Bryant. The 27-year-old, who was named the MVP in the previous season, is set to enter his eighth season in the league. While the star guard has already established himself as one of the best active players in the league, his driving force is Kobe Bryant. The three-time NBA All-Star, who appeared on the cover page of GQ Magazine, revealed that he wants to be better than the Hall of Famer.

Speaking to GQ’s Yang-Yi Goh, Gilgeous-Alexander said, “I pick up a basketball to be the best. If you’re asking me if I want to be better than Kobe, of course I do,” Shai says. “Whether I get there or not, we’ll find out.” The Canadian heads into the new season with his confidence higher than usual considering he led the team to their title run in 2024-25.

Go behind-the-scenes at our November cover shoot with @shaiglalex https://t.co/zi8paIZERl pic.twitter.com/f4ijZBu8tP
— GQ Magazine (@GQMagazine) October 13, 2025

He also became the only fourth player in the history of the league to win the regular season MVP, Finals MVP, scoring title, and NBA championship all in the same year. The other three players are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, and Shaquille O’Neal. Apart from this, he also set multiple personal records during the 2024-25 season.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Claims He Will Retire Before 40

In the same interview, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander claimed that he will pull curtains on his career before the age of 40. SGA was asked about the careers of players like LeBron James and Chris Paul, who are playing into their 40s. Responding to it, Gilgeous-Alexander said that while he believes he could do it, he won’t actually do it. He was also asked about a certain age that he would want to play until to which the star player said, “There’s no telling. But I promise you it won’t be 40.”

Revealing the reason behind his choice, SGA said that he doesn’t want to miss his kid’s life. “I won’t want to miss that much of my kid’s life,” he said. “I won’t want to be away and miss his first basketball game every year, his first soccer game, football game, piano lesson, chess lesson, whatever it is.”

Notably, SGA finished the previous season with an average of 32.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 6.4 assists per game. He recorded 51.9% shooting from the field and 37.5% from the three-point range. Recently, he laced up for the Thunder’s 122-116 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday. He tallied 16 points, one rebound, and five assists, along with 7-9 FG and 2-2 3Pt during the game.

Kobe Bryant

Shai Gilgeous Alexander

Garima Ranawat

Garima is a sports writer with around two years of experience in Indian sports and a newfound interest in the NBA. Inspired by the leadership of cricketing legend MS Dhoni, she wishes to bring in newer perspectives to the NBA fanatics with her writing.