The potential greatness of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sparks debate ahead of the playoffs

His teammates are hurt. LeBron James, 41, is not.

Acho had an answer ready on Speakeasy

On his Speakeasy show, Emmanuel Acho had an easy enough answer.

The key criteria here being players who have won both an MVP award and consecutive championships. Michael Jordan. LeBron James. Bill Russell. Hakeem Olajuwon. Kobe Bryant. “Those are all top 12 players,” Acho said.

“So if SGA wins himself another championship, he joins a list of Kevin Durant, Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Bill Russell, Kobe Bryant. These are top ten to top 12 players in the league history at worst.”

SGA is 2 months away from being a top 15 NBA player all time ALREADY.

NBA Players with MVP + back to back Championships:

Michael Jordan
Bill Russel
Kobe Bryant
Shaq
KD
Hakeem
Steph https://t.co/PkJl0rx2Nv

— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) April 14, 2026

But let’s pause right there, because Acho isn’t quite right with his list. Kevin Durant won back-to-back titles with the Warriors in 2017 and 2018, but he hasn’t won a regular season MVP. Then there’s Kobe, whose sole regular season MVP came in 2008 – a whole year before he won back-to-back rings in 2009 and 2010. This list doesn’t make as much sense as it seems.

But that’s not really the point here, and Acho does have an actual point to make with his list. Shai won the MVP this past season, and he’s now leading the Thunder to the franchise’s first-ever championship. At just 27 years old, he is averaging 31.1 points and 6.6 assists per game for the Western Conference’s best team in 2025-26.

“SGA is not just a good player. SGA is not just a great player,” Acho said. “SGA is a legendary player. We’re just numb to it because we are in the midst of it, but SGA does not get the credit he deserves.”

And it’s probably safe to say that anyone who has been following knows that part already. When greatness happens right in front of us, it just looks like good basketball. We usually figure out later.

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