Not many things make Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the 2024-25 NBA MVP, do a double take on a basketball court.
But seeing his supportive wife seated next to another man during the Oklahoma City Thunder's 118-103 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 2 of the conference finals was definitely something that made him look twice.
Fortunately, the gentleman in question was none other than Gilgeous-Alexander's friend and former teammate Chris Paul, though the Thunder star jokingly admitted it took him a second to make the connection.
"Oh yeah, it was amazing," Gilgeous-Alexander said when asked about Paul being in attendance. "Caught me off guard. I had to double take. I was like 'Who is that sitting with my wife?' I got a little tight but then I seen it was Chris [Paul] I was like 'Alright, cool'."
"I had to double take. I was like 'Who is that sitting with my wife?'... but then I seen it was Chris [Paul] I was like 'Alright'." 😂
— NBA TV (@NBATV) May 23, 2025
SGA was surprised to see former teammate CP3 in the crowd tonight, and also spoke to the special bond they share. pic.twitter.com/grffTIjBDW
Paul, a 12-time NBA All-Star, was among those in attendance at Paycom Center to see his former Thunder teammate hoist the Michael Jordan Trophy. Paul, currently a member of the San Antonio Spurs, spent one season with the Thunder back in 2019-20, Gilgeous-Alexander's second NBA season. Paul even stopped by ESPN's pregame show to share a few kind words about the "selfless" Gilgeous-Alexander before the start of the game.
"[Shai is] selfless. He hoops, he lets his game do the talking."@CP3 on how SGA has been able to achieve MVP status 🙌 🔥
— ESPN (@espn) May 23, 2025
Timberwolves-Thunder | 8:30 PM ET on ESPN 🍿 pic.twitter.com/z4wb7nnHZn
And Gilgeous-Alexander returned the favor in his postgame press conference, describing the immense impact that Paul had on both his life and his basketball career.
"Not only like a big brother, a mentor, but just like a friend," Gilgeous-Alexander said of Paul. "He's always there to lean on. He was the first guy in my life that I was close with that achieved the things that I wanted to achieve.
"I really lean on him for advice—and not only basketball advice. Business advice. Taking care of your body advice. Handling a family when they don't live with you. There's so many things that you deal with as an NBA player, especially of his caliber, that go under the radar. His guidance with that has been great. And like I said, not only as all of the mentorship and stuff but just being there as a friend. He's been special."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Didn't Initially Recognize Chris Paul Sitting Next to His Wife.
