"Wondering who LeBron James & Steph Curry gon' pass torch to"- Ex-NBA champ picks Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as NBA's next poster boy

Former NBA player Kendrick Perkins is a fan of OKC Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. On Thursday's episode of "NBA Today," Perk spoke highly of Gilgeous-Alexander and predicted he could be the next face of the league. His comments came after the two-time All-Star led the Thunder to a 123-114 victory over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday.

Against the Jazz, SGA finished the game with 54 points (career-high), eight rebounds and five assists. It wasn't just his offense that clicked that night as he was also active on the defensive end. The Thunder guard had three steals and two blocks to fill the stat sheet.

With his performance against Utah and the entire 2024-25 season, the former champion declared him as the league's poster boy in the future.

"When you talk about a guy, and we'll talk about getting into the MVP conversation -- yes, he's my frontrunner," Perkins said. "Let's take it a step further. We've been wondering who LeBron James and Steph Curry gon' pass the torch to, for as being the next face of the NBA, I think SGA wants to wear it.

"When you talk about checking all the boxes, he checks every single box for what you want, not only in a franchise player, but a guy that can actually be the face of the league."

SGA has led OKC to the top of the Western Conference with a 36-7 record. The 6-foot-6 is averaging 32.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.1 assists on 53% shooting from the field. This season is his third straight year averaging at least 30 points.

In the latest MVP Ladder update, the star guard remains at the top. Last season, he was the runner-up behind Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander thinks he could've done more against Utah

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had his best two-way performance on Wednesday. Fans, critics and his teammates rallied behind him after posting 54 points. However, he doesn't think he's had the best game of his career.

“I know this will sound very spoiled, but I feel like I didn’t have that great of a night. Left a few on the table, but there’s room to improve and that’s a good thing,” SGA said.

Scoring 54 points has never been easy and not a lot of stars have scored that much. However, he believes he can still improve his game, which means there's more in store for him moving forward.

On Thursday, SGA will play against the Dallas Mavericks before their two-game road trip.