Has Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Been Better Than Luka Doncic This Season to Be Favored by Shaquille O’Neal?

NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal is infamous for his unique opinions. Over the years, the 4x NBA champion has given multiple such takes which has shocked fellow analysts and fans. However, some of his wild claims have been proven as well. Recently, O’Neal compared Bol Bol with rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama. Shaq was not amused when his colleague Kenny Smith exclaimed he had seen no one like Wembanyama. So he reminded him that Bol Bol was the first 7’4″ star to do the things Victor had been doing. But he made it clear the Phoenix Suns star was not playing hard.

A lot of fans agreed with this one but it still did not sit well with some. Recently, Bol Bol has been playing with confidence and Shaq had his “told you so” moment. Now, the 2000 NBA MVP has another peculiar take as he picked Shai Gilgeous-Alexander over Luka Doncic. This time, most fans are not on his side.

Shaquille O’Neal revealed his choice

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander recently faced his former team, the Los Angeles Clippers. In 2019, the Clippers traded him along with Danilo Gallinari and multiple picks to the Oklahoma City Thunder to acquire Paul George. Before the game, Adam Lefkoe brought this up during a segment of the NBA on TNT. He noted Shai has almost always performed well against his former team. He then asked former Clippers star Jamal Crawford whether he thought Gilgeous-Alexander would be as good as he is now.

Crawford stated he is not sure whether anyone could have predicted the 2023 All-Star’s rise. The veteran noted he is top-3 in the MVP race and asked Candace Parker who she would pick as a point guard. The WNBA star said that it is between Shai and Luka Doncic but admitted she couldn’t pick.

When Crawford asked the same to Shaquille O’Neal, he did not hesitate, “I’m gonna have to take him [SGA]. Luka is a fabulous player but this kid? This kid, he plays the right way, gets his teammates involved, and when he puts his head down and goes to the basket, no one–I’m taking him right now. He’s definitely emerged as one of my favorite players to watch. Because I like stories like this, guys that come out of nowhere and then they’re a force to be reckoned with. He’s a hell of a player right now.”

That is massive praise coming from one of the greats. However, a lot of fans disagreed with O’Neal’s opinion on social media. Also, Gilgeous-Alexander did not help Shaq’s cause with a poor performance against the Clippers.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s emergence and form

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 19 points against the Clippers after Shaquille O’Neal praised him. He went 6 of 16 from the floor and missed all three of his 3-point attempts as per ESPN. Also, he struggled to get his teammates involved with 4 assists. On the other hand, Paul George had a great game against his former team as he scored a game-high 38 points and led the Clippers to a 128-117 win. However, anyone in the league can have a bad game. But has Shai been a better point guard than Doncic so far this season?

Gilgeous-Alexander struggled during his rookie year with the Clippers. Very few believed the 11th overall pick could be a superstar in the league. After joining the Thunder, he almost doubled his scoring average in his sophomore season. He continued to grow and averaged over 31 points last season and earned his first All-Star call. However, he could not help the team clinch a playoff spot. During the offseason, SGA led Canada to a Bronze medal in the FIBA World Cup tournament.

As the 2023-24 season started, Shai continued his good form and has been dominating his opponents. He is averaging 31.3 points, 6.3 assists, and 5.8 rebounds per game. Also, he has shown considerable improvement on the defensive end averaging 2.3 steals. Behind his impressive performances, the Thunder are now second in the Western Conference standings with a 27-13 record. They are above both the Clippers (#4) and the Dallas Mavericks (#5).

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His performances have not gone unnoticed as he won the KIA Player of The Month for December. With this, he broke into the MVP ladder and sits at the third spot now behind Joel Embiid at #1 and Nikola Jokić at #2. Notably, Doncic is one spot below Shai at fourth as per NBA.com.

Luka Doncic has been better

Luka Doncic has always been a special talent, and he displayed it as soon as he entered the NBA winning the Rookie of the Year award. Other than his first season, Doncic has made the All-Star team every year. He has also been in the MVP race for multiple years now. Doncic came close during the 2019-20 season finishing 4th in the MVP ladder. In the next two seasons, he finished 6th and 5th respectively as per Basketball Reference. But last year was interesting as Gilgeous-Alexander finished 5th with 46 points while Doncic finished 8th with 10 points.

However, it has to be noted that the Slovenian had better scoring, assists, and rebounds average than the Thunder star. That is the case this season so far as well. Luka is averaging 33.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, 9.1 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. Only Shai’s steals and blocks numbers are better than the Mavs star.

SGA shook things in the MVP ladder in January 2024 after winning PoTM. So let’s look at his numbers for December. In 13 games, he had 31.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 6.6 assists, and 3.1 steals per game. During the same period, in 13 games, Luka averaged 37.5 points, 8.9 rebounds, 11.1 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. Doncic once again dominates when you compare both stars’ last 10 games as well.

So, it is safe to say Luka has been better than Shai so far this season and at the moment as well. However, it has to be noted that he was inactive for the last three games. Also, the 4x All-Star is having a career year in terms of assists and is arguably better than Gilgeous-Alexander in getting his teammates involved. Even though stats do not always tell the full story, the difference is palpable.

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However, Shai has been electrifying this season as well. With his incredible rise in the league and the Thunder’s current form, we can understand why Shaquille O’Neal would pick him over Luka. However, in my humble opinion, Doncic has been better.

Editorial Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of EssentiallySports.