Before Game 3 of the 2025 NBA Finals, Rick Carlisle did not want to talk about the Indiana Pacers’ pickup points — how far away from their own basket they would have a defender meet the Oklahoma City Thunder’s ball-handlers.

John Salley says it was more than just basketball that allowed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to win MVP over Nikola Jokic.

Doing a side-by-side comparison, you can see the similarities between Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Kobe Bryant. The pump-fakes. The footwork. The mid-range infatuation. The MVP winner once dared to say Bryant was 'Michael Jordan on steroids.'