Everything SGA Said About Facing LeBron James, Lakers in Thunder's NBA Playoff Series

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is carving out his own NBA legacy that could include a second championship and league MVP this season, but there is an all-time great standing in his way.

Gilgeous-Alexander and the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder will face LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs, and the four-time All-Star had nothing but positive things to say about the King ahead of Tuesday's Game 1.

"We can sit here all day and talk about things he's done for the game," Gilgeous-Alexander told reporters Monday. "Guy's one of the best players to ever pick up a basketball in the history of human beings. It speaks for itself. 

"… You guys don't need me to sit here and tell you how great of a player LeBron James is. It should be a fun matchup to really test yourself against one of the greatest. Obviously, he's a little out of his prime, but he's still very very capable."

He also said, "playing against an all-time great like that, you get up for those games."

SGA, like so many others, are chasing a resume like James', which features four championships, four NBA Finals MVPs, four league MVPs, 21 All-NBA selections, 22 All-Star nods and the most points in NBA history.

But it is the Thunder in the position of favorites for this series, as they are the reigning champions with the point guard who is positioned to take home back-to-back league MVPs leading the way.

SGA Goes Off In Game 3

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What's more, the Lakers will not have Luka Dončić for at least for the start of the series as he recovers from a hamstring injury, which puts even more of the offensive onus on the 41-year-old James' shoulders.

James may be a legend, but asking him to match SGA at this point of his career is a daunting task. He was up for the challenge against a Houston Rockets team that was without Kevin Durant for most of the first-round series, but the Thunder is a different question entirely.

Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 33.8 points and 8.0 assists per game while shooting 55.1 percent from the field during a quick four-game sweep of the Phoenix Suns in the first round and will surely be looking to dispatch the Lakers just as efficiently with bigger goals on the horizon.

It may take a throwback performance from James for the Lakers to have any chance of stopping the star guard from reaching another Western Conference Finals.