Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took a lot of criticism during the playoffs. There was a lot of talk about free throws – but people overlooked the fact that SGA had possibly the best season of any guard since Michael Jordan.
All-Star, scoring champion, All-NBA First Team, MVP, and Finals MVP. That’s how Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s record reads after the season that just ended. With the exception of the All-Star Game MVP title (well, who was it?), the Canadian won everything there was to win individually and with the team this season.
OKC celebrated 68 wins during the season and 16 more in the playoffs. Only the Chicago Bulls led by Jordan in 1996 won more games (87) and lifted the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Gilgeous-Alexander naturally played the biggest part, he was the alpha and omega of the Thunder offense.
At times, it often seemed as if the half-court offense consisted solely of Gilgeous-Alexander, while the rest of the team mainly scored in transition and gained advantages thanks to their outstanding defense. But when nothing else worked, at least the man with the number two jersey did.
SGA: One of the best scorers of his time
In the end, SGA averaged just under 30 points in the playoffs (29.9 PPG), and with 688 points, the Canadian ranks among the top 10 for most points scored in a playoff run – right between Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan in ninth place. This duo is a good reference point, as they were the other two dominant guards (alongside Stephen Curry) of the last 35 years who also won championships.
SGA, on the other hand, averaged 32.7 points per game during the regular season and 31.4 over the past three years. Compared to other scorers, such as James Harden, Gilgeous-Alexander is also a plus defender, even if his reputation is perhaps not as good as it should be.
Nevertheless, SGA is one of the best scorers of his era, and his run over the past three years alone should be enough to earn him a place in the Hall of Fame. He is the best mid-range shooter, is almost impossible to stop in one-on-one situations, and now has a high percentage of shots from the rim. Add to that a free throw percentage of just under 90 percent and almost nine attempts per game.
SGA: Worked his way to the top
Sure, some of the calls are debatable, but that shouldn’t detract from SGA’s brilliance. His fakes and stop-and-goes are simply impossible to defend, so fouls happen, even if they sometimes seem marginal. The point guard is not a powerhouse; his game is elegant or more “herky jerky,” as the Americans like to say.
It’s also a lesson for others. While Nikola Jokic is an absolute unicorn, SGA’s game can be copied. He’s a good athlete, but not a great one. He’s a good shooter, but not a great one. He is a good playmaker, but not an outstanding one. He is a good defender, but not a great one. Rather, Gilgeous-Alexander has worked his way up. The eleventh pick in 2018, who played for Kentucky but was passed over in the draft by teammate Kevin Knox (who is now virtually out of the NBA), and who was traded after his rookie season.
A player who learned from Chris Paul in his early days in OKC and then went through tough times with the franchise as the Thunder languished at the bottom of the Western Conference for several years and laid the foundation for this title via the draft. In a league with a lot of transactions and fast-paced action, this is an “honest” championship, built over five or six years.
SGA: The best guard run since Michael Jordan
SGA and OKC suffered the highest defeat in NBA history (79-125 in Memphis in December 2021), they suffered setbacks (such as in the Conference Semifinals against Dallas last year), but they always continued to develop. No one embodies this more than Gilgeous-Alexander.
This team, this season will be remembered. It saw historically good defense and a historically good SGA, who scored less than 20 points in exactly four of 99 games. The Canadian may not get the attention of a Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan, but this was the best run over a full season since the days of His Airness in Chicago. With a little distance, even the biggest critics of his playing style will have to acknowledge that.
