Even though the Oklahoma City Thunder lost Game 1 of the NBA Finals in stunning fashion to the Indiana Pacers, 111-110, they are still very much in the series. Many still expect them to win the championship, even though Indiana has proven to be an extremely dangerous team, especially in crunch time and especially on the road.
The biggest thing Oklahoma City has going for it, other than perhaps its withering defense, is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, this year’s league MVP. He scored 38 points in Game 1, and he will likely have a few big outbursts before this series ends.
With Game 2 approaching, he said that Kobe Bryant is probably his favorite player ever and that he hopes to approach the heights the late Los Angeles Lakers legend attained. Teammate Jalen Williams, who is a budding star in his own right, said there are similarities between the games of Gilgeous-Alexander and Bryant.
“There are a lot of similarities there… If you are really paying attention to basketball & watch the way he plays… He can pick certain aspects of his game… [And] add his own touch to it.”
The most striking similarity between the two is the mid-range game. Gilgeous-Alexander seems to have mastered the ability to attack off the dribble, pull up from the mid-range area and nail jumpers, which was something Bryant made a living off of throughout his 20 seasons in the NBA.
Gilgeous-Alexander is also what some may call a free-throw magnet. He attempted 8.8 free throws a game during the regular season and made 89.8% of those attempts, which is even more remarkable when one considers that he’s 6-foot-6 and just 195 pounds. Bryant was very adept at tricking defenders into fouling him, and he was also an excellent free throw shooter who had a lifetime mark of 83.7% from the charity stripe.
Of course, the best way Gilgeous-Alexander can become more similar to Bryant is to win an NBA championship. It was something Bryant did five times with the Lakers.