Ex-teammate of Kobe and SGA speaks on Thunder star: ‘We’re looking at a Kobe Bryant being created’

Former NBA guard Lou Williams was drafted with the No. 45 overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, and while he never earned an All-Star nod, he was a star in his role for much of his career. The three-time Sixth Man of the Year played 17 seasons in the NBA with six different teams, and he was fortunate enough to play alongside some great guards during his career.

For one, he spent time with the Los Angeles Lakers in the twilight of Kobe Bryant’s career. In addition, he played with a rookie Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2018-19 campaign.

Williams gave his thoughts on Gilgeous-Alexander now that his Thunder are just three victories away from winning the 2025 NBA title and invoked Bryant when discussing his former teammate.

“I was having a conversation with one of my friends, and he was asking me about SGA,” Williams said. “And I said, ‘This is gonna sound crazy.’ I said, ‘But we’re looking at a Kobe Bryant being created. We’re looking at that next generation of Kobes and this and that.’ And he was like, ‘SGA?’ And I said, ‘Absolutely.'”

Gilgeous-Alexander won the first MVP award and scoring title of his pro career this season. He beat out Denver Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic for the MVP hardware after averaging a league-high 32.7 points per game in the 2024-25 regular season for a Thunder team that won 68 games.

The 26-year-old has carried over his stellar scoring from the regular season into the 2025 NBA Playoffs, as he’s averaging 30.4 points per game on 47.4 percent shooting from the field in 18 games played thus far. It’s easy to see where the Bryant and Gilgeous-Alexander comparisons come from, as both players are gifted scorers at the guard position.

Gilgeous-Alexander is seeking his first NBA title, though, while Bryant won five during his playing days. The Canadian has a golden opportunity to join the exclusive club of NBA stars who have won a title as their team’s top scoring option, but he and the Thunder still have plenty of work to do in these Finals.

The best-of-seven series is currently tied up at one game apiece ahead of Wednesday night’s Game 3, and the Thunder don’t even have home-court advantage in the series right now after they dropped Game 1 at home. Hopefully for OKC, Gilgeous-Alexander will soon lead the Thunder to a championship and have the distinction of being an NBA champion added to his resume.