From the Six to the Sooner State, Canada’s very own, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, has seen his stock hit meteoric highs in recent years. From leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to their first NBA title since departing Seattle to winning his first NBA MVP title, SGA is approaching his prime. And when you play in this league and show greatness consistently, you tend to draw comparisons with a particular Chicago Bulls legend.

In a recent interview, SGA was questioned about the noise surrounding comparisons to Michael Jordan. The OKC star’s face immediately lit up, and you could see he was flattered. But he kept it humble and took the compliments with class, as he usually does.

 “I’ll be lying if I said that, like, it wasn’t flattering. Being in conversation with a guy like that, who is the face of basketball, is pretty insane,” Gilgeous-Alexander said while speaking to Billboard.

But he quickly went on to add how these comparisons – both on and off the court – are to be taken with a grain of salt, well, at least for now.

“Honestly speaking, I don’t really love them, just because he’s three-peated twice – what he did for the sneaker business…like everything he did to the game. I think it’s a disservice to like compare me, seven years in, to what he’s been, so I don’t love them, but I appreciate them just because it’s greatness at the highest form, and that’s what I’m after, that’s what I’m chasing, and that’s what I’m striving for,” he concluded.

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The reigning MVP is still way behind Jordan, both when it comes to individual accolades and collective titles. However, SGA remains on track to win a consecutive NBA MVP title.

Averaging 31.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 6.4 assists over 49 games, he is the bookmaker’s favorite to win the title ahead of Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic, San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama, Detroit Pistons’ Cade Cunningham and Los Angeles Lakers’ Luka Doncic.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander vs Prime MJ – What do the stats say?

Between 1988 and 1993, Jordan was at his peak, according to NBA fans’ consensus. During these six years, MJ bagged three NBA MVPs, three Finals MVPs and one DPOY – not to mention his six scoring titles. When we compare these honors to SGA’s accolades right now, their trophy rooms definitely don’t look the same.

However, the stats paint a slightly different picture.

This tweet reflects how Shai’s numbers were on par with the six-time champ’s back in 2024, before he had a breakout season last year. However, his career averages still trail Jordan’s by a wide margin. SGA averages 25.2 PPG, 4.8 RPG and 5.2 APG as opposed to Jordan’s 30.1 PPG, 6.2 RPG and 5.33 APG. However, what keeps them in the same conversation is their scoring rate.

Durability-wise, MJ put up ‘Iron Man’ like numbers when the league was grittier than what we see on television these days. Zero missed playoff games; that should tell you what kind of an athlete he was. In comparison, SGA’s availability rate (which hovers around 71% excluding post-season games) is elite today but trails MJ’s record by a considerable distance.

Leading OKC to #1 in the West (42-14) record this year, SGA is making ‘consistency’ his middle name. The MJ three-peat dreams are just a fool’s dream for now. But if SGA keeps treading on his current trajectory, there’s no stopping him from adding to his rings. Let’s hope his pursuit of ‘greatness’ pushes the league’s competitiveness to new heights – the same way Jordan did.