SGA Says He's NBA's 'Best Player,' Addresses Social Media 'Narrative' About Flopping, Foul-Baiting

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is undoubtedly one of the best players in the NBA.

But the Oklahoma City Thunder believes the "one of" qualifier should be removed.

"I think I'm the best player in the NBA," he told Sean Gregory of Time . "I think the production that I have night in and night out is best-player-in-the-NBA production. I think the efficiency that I do it at is best-player-in-the-NBA efficiency. I think everybody picks up a basketball or a soccer ball or a football or a tennis ball to win the game, the match, whatever it is. And I've done my fair share of winning in these past couple years."

He's certainly done his fair share of winning.

Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder to the NBA title during the 2024-25 campaign as the league MVP and scoring champion who also finished in the top 10 of voting for the Defensive Player of the Year award.

All he did the following season was take home a second consecutive MVP while leading OKC to the best record in the NBA and the Western Conference Finals.

At just 28 years old, Gilgeous-Alexander's resume already includes the championship, an NBA Finals MVP, two league MVPs, a Western Conference Finals MVP, a scoring title, four All-NBA selections and four All-Star nods.

He has shown no signs of slowing down and will surely continue to add to his list of accomplishments for the next decade-plus.

If there is one drawback, at least in the eyes of opposing fans, it is the narrative that he flops and hunts fouls. From opposing fans chanting "flopper" at him to statistical breakdowns of how often he falls down compared to his contemporaries, the discourse is a part of the SGA conversation.

"Playing this game has done amazing things for my and my family's life," he said. "And if a narrative on social media is the worst that comes from this game for me, well, I'd take that a million times out of a million times."

The Thunder star has finished in the top three in the league in free-throw attempts per game in each of the last four seasons, so getting to the charity stripe is certainly part of his game.

But it is also what makes him so unstoppable, and he will surely continue to do so as he looks to cement himself as the best player in the league.