Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had reasons to look around and wonder when his turn would come. Luka Doncic already collected All-NBA honors. Trae Young took Atlanta into the conference finals. Ja Morant reached the playoffs. Meanwhile, an injured Gilgeous-Alexander watched Oklahoma City lose its way to a 22-50 finish.

Those differences described where four young guards stood at that moment. They could not settle where each would eventually go.

Gilgeous-Alexander’s progression makes that distinction worth remembering. The player who watched his peers command attention now owns two MVP awards and a championship. His story offers a useful challenge to basketball’s appetite for immediate conclusions: how much can anyone know about a player whose development continues?

As he explained to ESPN, he had learned that lesson well before Oklahoma City.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander kept moving beyond his early rankings

His high school basketball career began with a cut from the junior varsity roster. Gilgeous-Alexander still remembers the disappointment, but his account leaves little room for rewriting the circumstances to make himself look better.

“There were so many people, like so many people that were in ninth grade at that time that were better than me in basketball,” he said.

That admission gives his story substance. His coach evaluated the player in front of him. Gilgeous-Alexander accepted that other freshmen had an advantage and kept developing.

Within a year, he started for his school’s varsity team and his AAU squad. Binghamton later delivered his first Division I offer. Eventually, he chose Kentucky.

Even there, his standing suggested little about his eventual NBA ceiling. Five freshmen in his recruiting class carried higher rankings. He initially came off the bench behind Quade Green. By the season’s conclusion, he had earned SEC tournament MVP honors and positioned himself for a lottery selection.

Those evaluations captured stages of his development. Treating any one of them as a final answer would have missed everything that followed.

Presti noticed the progression while scouting Kentucky. Other prospects initially drew more attention, but Gilgeous-Alexander’s consistency kept registering.

That distinction matters. A player can lack the strongest initial billing and still provide reasons to keep watching.

Sam Presti gave his belief a financial commitment

The harder part came when Gilgeous-Alexander had to maintain that perspective as an NBA player.

During Oklahoma City’s rebuild, Doncic, Young, and Morant supplied visible examples of the success he wanted. He considered himself capable of reaching their level. Presti agreed, while maintaining that the Thunder needed time to construct something sustainable.

Their conversation about “The Tortoise and the Hare” gave that approach a familiar shape. Presti handed him a children’s book and connected its lesson to the work ahead.

The message also matched Gilgeous-Alexander’s experience. He already knew what it meant to watch others advance first.

“It’s a long race, just stay down,” he said.

Oklahoma City backed its confidence with a $172 million commitment over five years in 2021. Gilgeous-Alexander had never appeared in an All-Star Game. His extension carried no player option.

Those details made the agreement meaningful for both sides. The Thunder invested before he established himself among the league’s most decorated guards. Gilgeous-Alexander committed while the team still had substantial work ahead.

That agreement did not guarantee a championship. It gave their shared belief a concrete foundation.

His later description explains the relationship behind it.

“It feels like a partnership,” he said. “I don't work for him. He doesn't work for me. We're in this thing together.”

SGA’s progress gives patience a stronger argument

The results eventually accelerated. Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 31.4 points in 2022-23 and earned his first All-Star selection. Oklahoma City reached 40 wins, then 57, then 68.

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Presti also adjusted the roster. Following the 2024 postseason loss to Dallas, he traded for Alex Caruso and signed Isaiah Hartenstein. The next season brought a championship alongside Gilgeous-Alexander’s scoring crown, MVP award, and Finals MVP recognition.

That sequence gives the patience argument necessary substance. Gilgeous-Alexander improved. The team improved. Presti made additions as the roster’s needs evolved.

Waiting served a purpose because the people involved kept working.

None of this means every overlooked prospect will become an MVP, or every rebuilding team deserves unlimited faith. Even Presti acknowledged that nobody could have anticipated everything Gilgeous-Alexander eventually accomplished.

The useful lesson concerns the limits of early judgment. Doncic’s achievements did not establish Gilgeous-Alexander’s ceiling. Young’s playoff run did not put an expiration date on his potential. Morant’s emergence did not require him to abandon Oklahoma City’s approach.

He could recognize their success and continue pursuing his own.

For anyone assessing a young player, that distinction deserves attention. A current gap in accomplishment can be real without becoming a permanent limit on potential.

Today, a tortoise statue sits near his trophies, another gift from Presti. Its significance comes from everything between the original lesson and those awards: setbacks, improvement, commitment, and decisions that required time to bear results.

Gilgeous-Alexander gave the early assessments plenty of opportunities to change. His career makes a compelling argument for leaving that possibility open.