"He has a little D-Wade" - Carmelo Anthony shares Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's closest NBA comparison amid Thunder guard's MVP buzz
OKC Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been on a tear since coming to Oklahoma, establishing himself as an MVP-caliber talent. Naturally, this means that it's his turn to be matched up to stars from previous eras.
This conversation was had on Thursday's episode of Carmelo Anthony's podcast, "7 PM in Brooklyn." Anthony, along with his co-hosts Kazeem Famuyide and The Kid Mero, discussed which former player Gilgeous-Alexander reminds them of.
For Anthony, he's reminded of a player who was taken in the same draft class as him, Dwyane Wade.
"He has a little D-Wade," Anthony said. "His shiftiness, the pace, the way that he knows how to take off, speed up, shot fake, how to get to his spots." (37:52-38:06)
Anthony explained that much like Wade, Gilgeous-Alexander takes what the defense gives and goes to work with it. He also talked about his pace and how opposing teams can't take him out of it — qualities that Anthony also saw in Wade.
Dwyane Wade was also a great scorer and playmaker. Just like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is doing now, Wade was also once the league's leader in scoring.
In 2008-09, he brought home the scoring title by putting up 30.2 points per game. This season, Gilgeous-Alexander is on pace to finish as the best scorer at 32.8 ppg.
A 13-time All-Star (2005-16, 2019) and three-time champion (2006, 2012, 2013), Wade was enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023.
He never won the MVP award but came close several times. The closest he got was in 2008-09 when he finished third in voting behind Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.
Carmelo Anthony's co-host Kazeem Famuyide likens Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to Penny Hardaway
After Carmelo Anthony shared his comparison for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, his co-host Kazeem Famuyide gave his take. Famuyide went further back with his, naming someone who joined the league in the 90s — Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway.
"I know this is an unfair comparison because it's not real, but he reminds me of if Penny Hardaway never got hurt," Famuyide said. "The first couple years when Penny broke out as a member of the (Orlando) Magic."
Hardaway, much like Gilgeous-Alexander, was a tall point guard. While SGA is listed at 6-foot-6, Hardaway is just a little bit taller at 6-foot-7.
Hardaway missed out on being named Rookie of the Year in 1993-94, coming in as the runner-up to Chris Webber. In his second season, he was already an All-Star and a part of the All-NBA first team.
However, a knee injury in 1997-98 interfered with his career. He was limited to only 19 games that year and his numbers began to decline in succeeding seasons. The trajectory of his career and the talent he showed make Hardaway's career one of the biggest what-ifs in NBA history.