The Boston Celtics relinquished their standing as the top team in the NBA last season, with the Oklahoma City Thunder taking that title from them by winning the 2025 NBA Finals. The guy who was the driving force for the Thunder was superstar guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and he recently drew some high praise from Paul Pierce.
Over the past few years, Gilgeous-Alexander has gradually turned himself into the league's top scorer. In nine games this season, Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 33.3 points, 6.3 assists and 5.4 rebounds per game while shooting 51.5% from the field.
Pierce has seen a lot of great basketball players, whether he's gone up against them on the court or watched them from afar as a member of the media. When he watches Gilgeous-Alexander, Pierce claimed that he reminds him a lot of one of his top rivals from his playing days, Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant.
"He like Kobe, low-key," Pierce said of Gilgeous-Alexander in the second season of "Starting 5." "I know that sounds crazy, but it's just like, he's shifty, he gets to that midrange. He got footwork, pump fakes. Man, I'm telling you. Kobe."
There are a lot of similarities between Gilgeous-Alexander and Bryant. Both guys are elite scorers from all three levels of the floor and have a penchant for winning. Gilgeous-Alexander has a long way to go before he can achieve the same sorts of accolades Bryant earned, but he appears to be on his way to potentially doing so.
In Boston, the C's are waiting for their own superstar, Jayson Tatum, to get back on the court after he suffered a torn Achilles tendon in the playoffs last year. Jaylen Brown has done a great job of holding down the fort in his absence, and he will look to lead his team to victory when they take on the Orlando Magic on Friday night.