Throughout the history of the NBA there have always been certain players that rise substantially above the rest. These players do things on the court that make you question if they are even being challenged. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is one of these players. Night after night he dismantles defenses and puts together stat lines in a way that shouldn’t be possible. Despite the Oklahoma City Thunder facing injuries to many key players such as Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Alex Caruso throughout this season, Gilgeous-Alexander has still led them to a record of 34-7, which is good for the first seed in the western conference.
Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging a staggering 31.6 points per game which is a career high, 6 assists per game, 5.4 rebounds per game, and 2 steals per game. Gilgeous-Alexander’s elite scoring is even more remarkable when you break down how efficient he is while doing it. Gilgeous-Alexander is shooting 53 percent from the field, along with a 64 percent true shooting percentage, and he is also shooting a ridiculous 59 percent on two point field goals while attempting 15.3 two point field goals per game.
The bulk of his scoring comes from two point range and his ability in the paint and mid-range area is second to none. With one of the highest offensive burdens in the league, if not the highest, Gilgeous-Alexander consistently finds himself getting paint touches or efficient mid-range looks, no matter the coverage thrown at him.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s ability to break down his defender off the dribble and showcase his elite body control by stopping and starting on a dime to create separation for his patented mid range pull-up jump shot empower his scoring immensely. Gilgeous-Alexander does have speed, but he really attacks defenders by frequently changing the pace he is playing at, often lulling his defender to sleep then suddenly blowing by them or rising up for a jumper or stepping back. His understanding of timing and attacking from certain angles are one of the many things that make him a special scorer. He is shooting 53.6 percent from the mid range and it isn’t even his most efficient area on the floor.
Here, Phoenix Suns forward Oso Ighodaro gets switched onto Gilgeous-Alexander. Gilgeous-Alexander begins his attack slowly, then suddenly as he puts the ball between his leg he quickly speeds up forcing Ighodaro to try to beat him to the spot run the other way, which then allows Gilgeous-Alexander to stop as quickly as he started and snatch it back for the wide open mid range look.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s most notorious method of scoring is driving directly to the rim. He leads the NBA in drives per game at 21.5, and field goals made out of drives per game at 6. Gilgeous-Alexander doing this as a 6 ‘6 point guard in the NBA is nothing short of historic. He is shooting 73.7 percent in the restricted area this season, generating the majority of his drives off the dribble. Gilgeous-Alexander can either use a screen to get downhill and the rim or get there in isolation, both of which he averages 1.06 points per possession on.
Here, Gilgeous-Alexander receives a screen from Isaiah Hartenstein which prompts Anthony Davis to step up on the ball screen. With one crossover he attacked Davis’ top foot in order to get past him and then he finished high off the glass to make sure that he didn’t get blocked from behind by Davis.
Gilgeous-Alexander uses an array of moves to finish at the basket, whether it be a scoop layup, a floater over the defender, or just flat out finishing through contact, there is little that can be done to stop him in his insatiable pursuit of the rim. He can reliably split double teams, he can turn the corner if you try to hedge his screen, he can beat drop coverage with his pull-up shooting, he can annihilate anyone on a switch. All this to say, his scoring game is one of the most complete in NBA history.
Gilgeous-Alexander has been an incredible scorer for multiple seasons now, but this season he has tangibly increased his three-point output while keeping the same percentage from behind the arc. Last season Gilgeous-Alexander shot 35 percent from behind the arc while shooting 3.6 threes per game, and this season he is shooting the same percentage but he has increased his three point field goals per game to 5.6. He was already an extremely lethal scorer, and now defenders have to be even more concerned about him behind the arc.
Not only is Gilgeous-Alexander an other-worldly offensive player, he is also superb on the defensive end. He is very active in passing lanes, often getting steals in those scenarios, he is very adept at executing OKC’s defensive scheme which requires its players to help all over the floor and be on a string defensively. He is also quite good as just an on ball defender using his length and size to bother shots.
The Oklahoma City Thunder’s net rating sees a 17 point drop off when Gilgeous-Alexander is off the floor, while their offensive and defensive ratings drop as well,showing that his impact to his team is beyond immense. In the previous two seasons Gilgeous-Alexander has finished top 5 and top 2 in MVP voting, and so far through this this year he is undoubtedly on track to secure his first MVP award and also lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to an NBA championship.
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