Take a pause, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander isn’t going anywhere at 27, especially fresh off a championship. Still, most players start thinking about retirement in their mid-30s, often after hitting a milestone. Chances are we’ll be having the same conversation about Shai in half a decade. Not everyone is LeBron James, still dominating and fuming at retirement talk, or like Chris Paul, still suiting up at 40. Only Steph Curry, at 37, is taking a humble approach. So, when will SGA step away?

During a recent interview with GQ, after being featured in their ’50 Most Stylish People Alive’ list, Shai discussed his retirement plans. It all started when the interviewer, Yang-Yi Goh, asked Shai about his thoughts on playing till his 40s, something a couple of his idols, such as James and CP3, are currently doing, and does he thinks he can follow in their footsteps. To which the point guard gave an unexpected reply, to say the least. “I definitely think I can,” he said. Can, yes, but will he?

Even though SGA confirmed he’s capable, both mentally and physically, that isn’t part of his plans. “I won’t, though. A hundred percent,” he added. So when the host asked, “You think it’ll be, like, what—your mid-30s?” Shai was quick to respond, “There’s no telling,… But I promise you it won’t be 40.” Yet it still leaves fans wondering why.. Well, the OKC Thunder superstar had a well-thought-out explanation for that as well.

“I won’t want to miss that much of my kid’s life,” the OKC star emphasized. For the young star, family and e“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. And there’s a certain point in your career where you reach your peak. I don’t fault guys for still playing. They love the game.” Shai won’t wait for a perfect day to come. If he feels it isn’t clicking, we won’t be seeing him suiting up anymore.

“But I just feel like I play this game, ultimately, to see what the best version of me can be. Once I figure that out and I start going down, then it’s like, Okay, well, what am I playing for now? As soon as that happens, I’ll be on the first ship out,” he further added. So, there’s no telling when SGA decides to call it quits, especially after his wife, Hailey Summers, confirmed a change in priorities.

SGA’s better half reveals a change in priority for the OKC star

For most hoopers who enter the NBA, basketball more often than not remains their priority. Such was also the case with Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, until now. However, before you get any other ideas, it’s not like basketball doesn’t matter anymore to last season’s MVP.

It’s just that now in his free time, Shai’s much more focused on his family rather than basketball. Well, it’s something his wife, Hailey, herself attested to while having a conversation with GQ. Until recently, Summers would have had to remind the superstar guard to take some time off basketball and maybe take a breather. However, with the birth of their son, Ares, that has changed.

“But now that we have Ares, he’s like, ‘I can’t wait for this break. What’s the plan? Let’s do something!” She revealed. A great example of this was something he did after winning the Larry O’Brien trophy last season. After the championship parade, the 27-year-old flew right back to Canada to spend two weeks with his family.

During this time, Hailey, Shai, and their daughter visited their parents and went to zoos, parks, farms, aquariums, and whatnot. “He just really enjoys being a dad. He’s extremely patient, extremely present, and he’s better at taking a step back now,” she further added. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s better half shed light on how becoming a dad has changed his perspective about not just his career, but life in general. Now, the point guard knows when he should take a step back and spend some quality time with his family.