OKC Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander re-signs with Converse

In just year six of his NBA career, Oklahoma City Thunder standout Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is already in an elite class of players, as he has elevated his game to an MVP-caliber level. Beginning his career with the Los Angeles Clippers, SGA found himself as the player centerpiece part of the blockbuster Paul George trade in the Summer of 2019. 

The change is scenery saw SGA part of a solid core with a mix of veterans and aspiring prospects in the 2019-20 NBA season. However, following this single contending season for the OKC Thunder, their front office’s focus shifted to looking toward the future. With this renewed vision, the OKC Thunder went through a few seasons of losses and figured out the puzzle pieces that fit in a hopeful playoff core. One thing remained constant throughout, and that was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading the pack at the helm. 

Fast forward to 2024, the Oklahoma City Thunder have secured the first seed in the Western Conference going into the playoffs, and SGA is a premier player in the league. With more eyes on Shai and the Thunder, his transcendent superstar status has taken a jump with it. Clearly, Converse took notice of SGA’s potential when they signed the young guard to a sneaker endorsement deal in 2020.

But recent reports came out indicating SGA was preparing to hit the sneaker free agency market following the conclusion of his current Converse deal. There was no doubt a whole host of other prominent sneaker brands were prepared to throw big-money offers at the blossoming NBA star. Shai to Nike, Shai to New Balance, Shai to Puma, Shai to Adidas - the possibilities were endless.

These aforementioned companies will simply need to wait till the next bidding war, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has come to terms on a new, multi-year deal with Converse, securing his spot to remain the face of the brand’s basketball division. 

The execs over at Converse can breathe a sigh of relief after retaining the endorsement rights to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Without question, the eventual arrival of Shai’s first signature Converse sneaker is imminent. Despite being with the brand for several years now, SGA has merely worn iconic Converse silhouettes or been responsible for reviving retro designs. Yet, no official SGA sneaker has been made available on the market. Shai’s megastar pull is just too great to ignore, and you can bet a signature shoe is in the works to capitalize on SGA’s popularity.

As an incentive to Shai's new deal, the brand has appointed him the Creative Director role of their Converse Basketball division. The brand certainly has big plans involving the NBA's fashion icon moving forward.