One of many Canadian players in the NBA, Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander stated earlier yesterday that he doesn’t want to be compared with Russell Westbrook in any way.
The sophomore who came to OKC via trade in which Paul George ended in LA, stated that he isn’t the 2017 NBA MVP and that he refuses for the media to compare him with Westbrook.
“I am not Russell Westbrook,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We don’t have the same name, the same body type, nothing like that.”
The youngster also stressed out that he wants to be recognized for his style of play, and that he isn’t going to replicate the new Houston Rockets point guard.
“So I’m going to try to be myself and be the best me, and everything else will take care of itself.”
The expectations for Gilgeous-Alexander are massive. The fans are expecting from him to step up and prove all the claims that he could be one of the elite point guards in the league. During his rookie season in the Clippers, he showed his vast talent on numerous occasions.
At the end of the regular part of the season, he averaged 10.8 points, 3.3 assists, 1.2 steals with .476 percent shooting from the field. Those numbers were even higher in the playoffs when LA Clippers clashed with the Golden State Warriors.
He will now have the opportunity to improve his skill set along with one of the best playmakers ever, Chris Paul. Paul came to OKC in exchange for Westbrook, but according to all the sources, he won’t be staying too long at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
The veteran point guard wants a team in which he can compete for the title, and OKC hasn’t got that kind of material right now. They are a crew which still needs to develop, and is in the process of the reconstruction.
But that won’t prevent Gilgeous-Alexander from absorbing as many things as possible from CP3. He already learned some tricks but didn’t want to reveal which.
“Some of the things I like to keep a secret,” he said, laughing. “I’ve learned a lot from him in terms of thinking the game, angles, things like that.”
After Paul’s departure, SGA is bound to become the leader of the new Thunder team. That is something he surely wouldn’t be among the Clippers even without Kawhi and Paul George.
Though Doc Rivers was against his trade to Oklahoma, but the Thunder management was specific in their demands, and one of them was the young Canadian fella.
Even today, Doc still laments over the fact that he had to give up one of his favorite guys. Oklahoma went from a title contender to a team which is projected to be the last in its division and the bottom part of the Western Conference. But having in mind that they have a nice starting position, and a bunch of first-round picks, don’t be surprised to see them on the top of the West anytime soon.
