Is Russell Westbrook a greater all-time NBA player than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander?

Even though the Oklahoma City Thunder aren’t two decades old, they’ve seen their fair share of NBA legends and rich history pass through the small market. Since their 2008 relocation, they’ve been one of the most successful franchises. About everything you can imagine has happened.

The Thunder have one NBA championship, two NBA Finals trips, four MVP winners, six Western Conference Finals battles and perennial playoff appearances. OKC has rostered some of the game’s all-time greats. And that’s reflected in one recent player ranking.

As we go through the quiet part of the NBA’s year-long calendar, HoopsHype published its 80 greatest NBA players ever. The NBA site updates its rankings every year. In the latest edition, there were quite a few interesting implications made as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made his debut in the top 80 list.

Gilgeous-Alexander was ranked as the 64th greatest NBA player ever. A little surprising, considering some of the names ahead of him — such as Dolph Schayes, Dwight Howard, Ray Allen, Damian Lillard and Carmelo Anthony. Heck, even Steve Nash is way ahead of him at No. 36.

But the most interesting name of the bunch if you’re looking through OKC lenses? Russell Westbrook. He was in the No. 48 spot on the list. Suggesting that he’s had a better all-time career than Gilgeous-Alexander.

Is that the case? Ehhh. I don’t know. But the HoopsHype staff justified its all-time rankings. They seem to value Westbrook’s peak and how he completely morphed the meaning of a triple-double in his 2016-17 MVP campaign. We went nearly 60 years without seeing somebody sans Oscar Robertson average a triple-double for a season. And then Westbrook ripped off four of those types of seasons in a five-year span.

Other parts of Westbrook’s mythos include being one of the winningest players of the 2010s. He has plenty of individual accolades and stats to be proud of as a perennial All-NBA and All-Star member in that era. Alongside Kevin Durant, both headlined OKC’s first title contender for nearly a decade.

“As is the case with basically every player, age has affected the former triple-double machine, and that athleticism and energy level have dwindled as Westbrook’s effectiveness pales in comparison to what they used to be,” HoopsHype wrote. “Still, Westbrook is undoubtedly one of the NBA’s best players ever, a literal cheat code statistically in his prime, and his career will probably be looked at even more fondly once it’s over.”

Of course, the Gilgeous-Alexander and Westbrook debate has been a hot-button issue. At least locally. To most, Gilgeous-Alexander usurped Westbrook for the greatest Thunder player in franchise history last summer. He brought home OKC’s first NBA championship. That type of achievement sticks with you forever. And even though the latter has longevity and volume stats on his side, that doesn’t feel like the ironclad argument that it used to be.

Sure, Westbrook still holds most of OKC’s franchise records and has more individual accolades, but Gilgeous-Alexander is starting to catch up. He had a more unorthodox rise to being an NBA legend. But he’s quickly making up ground with two MVP awards and four superb-efficient 30-point years in a row. He’s turned into one of the most efficient scorers in basketball history. With plenty of runway left to write more chapters into his hooping mythos.

“Gilgeous-Alexander is enjoying one of the best primes at the guard position we have ever seen in league history, and if he keeps up this pace, we may have to remove the ‘guard’ part of that statement,” HoopsHype wrote. “He’s been that dominant, with his throwback, mid-range bucket-getting style, his crafty and slippery drives at the basket and his ability to knock down big shots.”

Look — there are crazier examples of all-time NBA players being listed above Gilgeous-Alexander in HoopsHype’s rankings. I mean, Schayes, Howard, Anthony, Lillard and Allen are just straight-up wrong. But it’s interesting to see their voting results had Westbrook over him. By a cushy 16-place difference, too.

I respect the HoopsHype staff for indulging itself in this thought exercise. There’s no right or wrong way to drum up an all-time rankings list like this. Because of that, it’s inherently going to cause uproar in some parts of the basketball community. And I feel like Gilgeous-Alexander’s surprisingly-low spot is one of those examples.

Think the NBA world as a whole is still catching up to conventional wisdom about how special Gilgeous-Alexander is. We’re seeing one of the defining faces of the NBA’s 2020s era. As long as the Thunder remain a title contender, he’ll skyrocket through some of these names.

We have updated our list of the greatest NBA players ever.

From Michael Jordan and LeBron James to Hal Greer and Tracy McGrady, this is our Top 80: https://t.co/76cFw1wA6kpic.twitter.com/is1KxJxccZ

— HoopsHype (@hoopshype) July 26, 2026

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Is Russell Westbrook a greater all-time NBA player than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander?