OKC Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is easily one of the most promising young stars basketball currently has to offer.
Still just 26 years old, the point guard is a two-time All-Star and All-NBA selection, a recent MVP snub, and finds himself leading the charge for the reigning number-one seed in the Western Conference that heads into 2024-25 with the second-best odds of winning this year’s NBA Finals.
With all this on his resume, many see astonishingly bright days ahead for the rising superstar.
To some, this could come in the form of guiding Oklahoma City to ultimate glory and winning an NBA Championship. To others, it will be more fiscally driven, as he may soon be in line for a jaw-dropping $293.4 million deal.
For Ronnie Singh, better known by his professional name, Ronnie 2K, it may involve the Thunder centerpiece joining the incredibly prestigious club of being named as the cover athlete for the popular video game series, NBA 2K.
At least, that’s what he suggests could be on the horizon during a recent sit-down with Rylan Stiles of Thunder on SI.
Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ‘a future cover athlete’ for NBA 2K
Following last month’s drop of player rankings for the latest edition of the 2K franchise, Stiles chatted with the face of the brand to discuss the Thunder star’s “ties” to the game, noting that he has “been a 2K fan for years” and that, considering his star status in the association, “I’d like to say he is a future cover athlete, one day I hope that happens.”
As noted, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has proven himself to be one of the best young talents in the league. From his elite two-way abilities to his astonishingly deep bag of tricks at his disposal, the soon-to-be seventh-year player is as close to unstoppable on the hardwood as a player can be.
Over the last two seasons, SGA has gone about and taken a massive leap forward from being a rising stud to a legitimate superstar and has sported sensational per-game averages of 30.7 points, 5.8 assists, 5.2 rebounds, 1.8 steals, and just shy of a block while shooting 52.3 percent from the floor and 35.0 percent from distance.
Because of this, he, along with Sixers center Joel Embiid, finds himself heading into the upcoming campaign with a 96 overall rating in the game, which ranks him as the fourth-best player in 2K behind the three-way tie of Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, and Giannis Antetokounmpo at 97.
Ironically, the potential future 2K cover athlete is five slots ahead of this year’s face of the game, Boston Celtics forward, Jayson Tatum, who rates in at 95 (tied with Stephen Curry, LeBron James).
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