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The Tank Commander: SGA for MVP?
An Oklahoma Thunder star is on the rise!
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is not yet a household name but, from my perspective, he will be soon. Known by Thunder fans and NBA hardcores alike as SGA, he slips and slides through the national media like he does the world’s best defenders, Patient, at his own pace, extremely efficient.
The Tank Rolls On
He goes by unnoticed because he’s on a relatively unassuming Oklahoma City team, much maligned for “tanking” the last few seasons for better draft lottery odds. It’s only when Shai drops 35/6/6 that people start recognizing his insane potential and start getting an understanding as to why they’re doing it. Their only option is to build through the draft. Thunder general manager Sam Presti knows OKC isn’t a free agent destination, so he’s using the other resources at his disposal to build his “next great Thunder team”, something he did a decade ago when he drafted James Harden, Russell Westbrook, and Kevin Durant. The Tanking pill was always going to be hard to swallow for Thunder fans, used to winning and being competitive for almost the entirety of their existence. Presti understood this. At the beginning of this rebuild, he implored Thunder fans to be patient, that the next few years were going to suck, but that we should watch both SGA and the talent around him steadily grow. That the end result would be a team with sustained championship aspirations like the one that made the finals exactly 10 years ago and continued to succeed for multiple years thereafter. Thunder fans hunkered down. After just 2 seasons of actively trying to lose and Presti’s vision seeming blurry at times, everything might be finally starting to come into focus. Shai has gotten really good. Chet Holmgren and Josh Giddey who we drafted in the last two drafts will almost certainly be really good. The Thunder will likely receive another lottery pick in this next draft adding to their already large assortment of blue-chip talent. The plan is there for everyone to see, to build around Shai. The wheels are clearly spinning in that direction.
Who the heck are these guys?
But what makes the Thunder's future so bright? I think it’s because Sam Presti is assembling a team of complete basketball anomalies. Players are almost incomparable to others, past or present, making them VERY HARD to gameplan for, now and in the future. Chet Holmgren is a player with a Kevin Durant-type frame, awesome handles, and the rim protection of Rudy Gobert. Josh Giddey is a gigantic, gifted, pass-first point guard with a solid floater game and an unequaled competitive fire. As hard as those guys are to pin down, it’s harder with Shai. The way he gets to the rim and finishes at every awkward angle possible is something I’ve never seen before. His 7-foot wingspan allows him to take open layups with ease while smothered by opposing defenders. His 6–6 frame allows him to elevate over smaller guards in the midrange where his shot is almost always pure. This rare combination of gifted physical tools and gifted fundamentals renders him almost impossible to guard, and just as impossible to find a viable comparison. Prime James Harden? A bigger Chris Paul? Michael Jordan?
Who knows?
I do know that Shai is clearly “Him”, and it’s time for NBA teams and national media pundits alike to start acting like it.
Uber Efficient
I took to writing this piece after yet another masterful SGA performance against the Denver Nuggets on Thursday. His stat line of 37 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists was par for the course this season, raising his season averages to 32/5/6. What stuck out most in this game is the extreme efficiency with which he plays. No movement is wasted when driving to the rim, no shot is ever egregiously off the mark. His 13 made shots out of 17 could’ve been even more efficient had some layups not rolled off the rim. Still, his season field goal percentage rose to 54%, almost unheard of for a guard.
You may be wondering how Shai managed 37 points on 13 shots, and the answer to that my friend is free throws. SGA gets to the line with ease, selling contact that defenders are almost forced to initiate if they want any chance at stopping him. At the strike he’s shooting a career best clip of 98%, missing his first free throw of the season against the Nuggets in Thursday’s matchup. Stat nerds may argue that some regression is expected in this regard considering he’s a career 80% free throw shooter, but could he have not just gotten better? His midrange game has improved so much (he literally swishes almost every shot) that one thinks an increase in free throw percentage would naturally follow. Gun to my head, No, I don’t expect Shai to stay at 98% but, even if he regresses to his average, a player who takes whatever he wants at the rim and shoots >80% at the free throw line is almost unfair. It puts him in the same stratosphere of players like Luka Doncic and prime James Harden, both of whom are considered “unfair” for the same exact reason.
Proud Defender
One thing that separates Shai from those two is his effort on defense which has taken a dramatic step forward this season. He’s using his wingspan to block jumpers, tip passes, get steals. He hustles for rebounds and closes out on shooters quickly. He can’t get bodied down low because he’s bigger than most guards and holds his own against forwards when it’s asked of him. He’s a solid man both literally and figuratively and players quickly find out that a 6’ 6 200 pound frame is hard to move.
Also as a fan that’s been watching the NBA for a long time, he shows a level of pride that you just don’t often see with other ball-dominant guards. Engines of the offense usually defer to other people on defense because their bodies take such a physical toll when scoring/facilitating. Shai carries the offensive load for his team yet competes in every defensive possession proving that it’s not just his body, but also his character, that’s built differently. He said at the beginning of the season that he wants to be a great two-way player and so far this season, he’s been exactly that. Now should start marking him down as the next Gary Payton? No, probably not. But the dude’s a menace when guarding opposing ball handlers and is extremely tough to get around. That’s more than enough.
In conclusion, SGA is really good on both ends of the floor.
Public Service Announcement
The real question though is if it’ll be good enough for Shai to finally earn his first all-star appearance. There are a lot of good western conference guards out there but I’ll tell you right now if he keeps up what he’s doing he’ll be a shoo-in. Hell, if he keeps this up the entirety of the season he might make a case for MVP and I’m not sure that’s overly dramatic. What other player averages 30 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists while simultaneously playing impactful defense? Giannis? Jokic? Embiid? Luka will almost certainly have better-counting stats than Shai but will surely be way less efficient. Not to mention Luka is an absolute traffic cone on defense. I’d take Shai’s effort and drive any day.
You, on the other hand, should take this article as a warning that this dominant two-way guard is coming to take over the league. Shai is 24 and nowhere near his prime. If he’s averaging such gaudy stats now what do you think his stats are going to look like when he’s 27, 28, or 29? When opposing teams have to account for other players on their squad instead of focusing solely on them? When he has even more space to drive because his teammates can actually hit threes?
It’s scary to think about what he could become and what the Thunder could become once all of these guys’ primes overlap. If Chet becomes what everyone thinks he could become and Josh continues to grow as he has, then we’re talking about a serious championship contender for years to come. Every game, every season, is one step closer to that ultimate goal. I encourage you to watch Shai and this team play because you don’t want to be the guy who had no clue what was happening in Oklahoma City. When they finally win their championship and Shai is one of the most dominant players in the league you’ll be dumbfounded!
Don’t say I didn’t warn you!
