Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Makes Big Career Move in NBA Offseason
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had another stellar season, but unfortunately, it didn’t end with him and the Oklahoma City Thunder claiming a second straight NBA championship.
Despite SGA winning the NBA MVP, his team suffered several significant injuries, which hindered their lineup in the Western Conference Finals. They ran into the No. 2 seed San Antonio, which won 62 games during the regular season, including multiple games against OKC.
While OKC was able to stretch the series to the full seven games, a young, hungry, and talented Spurs team, led by Victor Wembanyama, got the better of them.
That meant a slightly earlier exit for Oklahoma City, giving them time to rest, recover, and recalibrate during their offseason. In addition, it may have allowed SGA to make a major move involving his endorsements.
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On Tuesday, he shared an intriguing Instagram post that featured his official Converse logo, which he designed himself years ago, featuring the number two connected to an upside-down two in the opposite direction.
In his video clip, the logo begins spinning rapidly, and as it does, one can’t help but notice it appears to look like two vertical Nike swooshes side by side.
The House of Heat account on X shared the teaser video, with many commenters reacting to the potential brand switch. Many mentioned that Nike owns Converse, and it might be a better move for SGA’s shoes to increase their popularity.
“Converse is owned by Nike, but the Shai 1 was a bad performance shoe,” one commenter said about his sneaker.
Others commented, “Nike owns Converse. They’re just going to Swoosh the Shai 002,” and “I think we might get some SGA x Nike collab if anything like a AF1 or something along those lines.”
On Tuesday evening, Nick DePaula confirmed that Nike officially added Gilgeous-Alexander as a Signature Swoosh athlete.
“Coming after back-to-back MVP seasons, we are excited to build on Shai’s incredible impact with Converse as one of the most creative leaders in the game,” the company said in a statement.
Gilgeous-Alexander originally signed his endorsement deal with Converse in July 2020 as part of their rebrand, so this makes for an essential career move six years later, as he is now considered the best player in the NBA.
The Converse brand originally became popular with legends like Julius Erving, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird. SGA became a smart choice as the top star to wear the brand in this newest era of basketball.
A move to Nike to boost his next shoe’s appeal and sales seems like the wise move for the OKC star, as the last thing they want is his new sneakers to flop.
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This story was originally published June 16, 2026 at 8:33 PM.