Shai Gilgeous-Alexander opens the Clippers trade in Netflix’s Starting 5

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander became a superstar for Oklahoma City Thunderleading the franchise to its first NBA championship last summer. The second season of Netflix’s Beginning 5 documented the Gilgeous-Alexander special playoff series.

Before the 2025 MVP and Finals MVP developed into a kid in the Midwest, he was a promising core member of the LA Clippers who hoped to contend for years to come.

Gilgeous-Alexander was drafted by the Clippers with the 12th pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, having worked out exclusively for them throughout the process and received a promise to be selected by the organization at the time.

The point guard quickly became the starting point guard for the franchise, impressing throughout the season and leading them to a surprise playoff berth.

The Clippers took two games from the Golden State Warriors, who were led by an unstoppable core of Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.

Gilgeous-Alexander had a spectacular run, helping overcome a 31-point deficit in the third quarter in Game 2 and scoring a then-career-high 25 points in Game 4.

“It was a great first season with the Clippers,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said on Start 5 Episode 2. “We blew expectations. We weren’t supposed to be very good. We ended up making the playoffs.”

By all accounts, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander looked like the Clippers’ point guard of the future. Paired with the players they were hoping to get with their two max contract slots, the future looked bright.

Netflix’s Starting 5 shed light on what happened next.

Clippers trade Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to Thunder

After weeks of speculation, the decision on free agent superstar Kawhi Leonard was announced by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, with Leonard choosing to join the LA Clippers on July 5, 2019.

“I was getting ready to go to Summer League to practice with the team,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said.

Simon Gebrelul, business manager for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, recalled the next few minutes that changed his entire career.

“I’ll never forget, we’re all on the phone together,” Grebrelul said. “And I get a drop-down notification. ‘Kawhi Leonard agrees to multi-year deal with Los Angeles Clippers.’ You guys have gone from being a borderline playoff team and are about to make a real run. Kawhi is in his prime, having just won a ring with the Raptors. We celebrated.”

But it didn’t end there.

“A drop-down notification again,” Gebrelul continues. “Paul George for the Clippers. We’re like, ‘Paul George, Shai and Kawhi. You’ve got a new big three! You’re the best team in the NBA right now. We’re celebrating. We’re yelling on the phone.’

Then the next drop down on my phone: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

In a matter of minutes, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and his team went from celebrating joining forces with Leonard and George to wondering what exactly is next.

“At first it was like a punch in the gut. We’re like, ‘damn.’ And then Shai, immediately, said, ‘everything is good.’

“He just turned it into a positive. Then he said, “Now I have my situation. Now I can really rock.’ The next morning he went to the gym. And he didn’t leave the gym for maybe a month straight.”

And just like that, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander turned his summer around and focused on what he needed to do with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

“I didn’t see it coming,” Gilgeous-Alexander said on Netflix’s Starting 5. “I just remember thinking to myself, ‘I’ve proven to the Clippers organization that I’m worth the pick and a good enough basketball player to be their starting point guard.’ I remember thinking to myself, ‘Okay, now I have to do it all over again with the Oklahoma City Thunder.’

“I wanted to make sure Oklahoma City felt like they won the trade when it was all said and done. So it may have seemed one-way at the time, but that was my focus, to try to change the script.”

The scene turned to the game at hand: the LA Clippers host the Oklahoma City Thunder for their second matchup of the early season.

“The Clippers came to town and I’d be lying if I told you I don’t get up to play the Clippers every time… For obvious reasons.”

The Clippers had less success in the regular season and reached the Western Conference Finals in 2021, but never reached the NBA Finals. Meanwhile, the Thunder finally reached the NBA Finals after years of rebuilding and won the 2025 NBA Championship.