The Oklahoma City Thunder has one of the most talented rosters in the NBA, as they have only two wins since lifting the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Among OKC Thunder players, there’s no doubt that Shy Gilgauss Alexander is in his own league as he’s running historic postseason.
In fact, if you enjoy great success like the Chicago Bulls did in the 1990s, it’s not wrong to label the SGA with Michael Jordan of Thunder.
If Gilgauss Alexander is Thunder’s MJ, who is his deputy commander, aka Scotty Pippen? Well, NBA analyst Brian Windhorst seems to have an answer to this.
Even today, MJ is considered the greatest basketball player of all time. However, Jordan did not have much success in the postseason before Pippen rose to Bulls stardom.
As a result, there is no doubt that comparing it to Pippen is not a small amount. According to Windhorst, Jalen Williams was able to have a career like Pippen in the NBA.
“There are people in this league who believe Jalen Williams can have a career like Scotty Pippen.
Now, that’s a big comparison for the 24-year-old, 2025, who averaged 20.8 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game for the Thunder in the 2025 NBA playoffs.
To be honest, Williams’ Windy’s Pippen comparison is due to his ability to promote Gill Alexander’s game rather than winning six NBA titles with the Thunder.
Shai is the 2025 NBA MVP, but there’s not much he can do on his own. This was on display completely when the Thunder lost Game 1 of the series despite scoring 38 points on the board.
With that in mind, Windy broke Williams’ Game 4 performance even more, explaining why OKC is the most important determinant of heading into Game 5.
“Jalen Williams was the guy who unlocked the SGA as the point guard play throughout the first three thirds of the game worked in two games and forced SGA to have a better matchup.
“That one operation could be huge not only for tonight, but for the next decade in the NBA,” Windhorst concluded.
It’s exciting to see what the Williams SGA duo bring to the table against the Indiana Pacers in Game 5 of the series. After all, Game 5 holds the opportunity for either side to take one step closer to winning the 2025 NBA Championship.