Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is proving that he might one day be an MVP-caliber player this season with the Oklahoma City Thunder. SGA is averaging 31.1 points, 6.0 assists, and 4.7 rebounds through 21 games this season and has been leading the Thunder to a surprising 10-13 record.
Shai has proven over his last 2 seasons in OKC that the team is much better when he’s available, as late-season injuries often make the team shut their star player down to avoid further risk by playing him when their goal is to tank.
With Shai having an All-Star start to the season, many are putting more pressure on him and OKC to continue this form. The team’s relative success has been almost entirely handed to Shai, but the Canadian star believes his teammates deserve the spotlight too.
“I don’t like that. If it was just me every night, if I have 30, we’d lose by 90. The other 4 guys on the court at all times, sometimes I’m on the bench, so all other 5 guys. Today we went to the 4th quarter down and the other 5 guys played their assess, oops, played well. When I checked back into the game, we were up 6. We’re a 15-man team every night. Like I said before, we’re just worried about getting better.”
The young players in OKC are proving they were good picks by the team. Despite losing Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams is emerging as the star rookie on the squad. Josh Giddey has been hurt, but when he’s available, is proving he can be a long-term backcourt partner for Shai. A lot of good signs on the team, so how long will OKC hold off contention?
Is This The Final Year Of Tanking For The Oklahoma City Thunder?
The OKC Thunder have an enviable list of future assets and tremendous young players to rebuild toward a championship with. Luguentz Dort, Aleksej Pokusevski, Tre Mann, Kenrich Williams, and more from an excellent list of talent that the OKC has on their roster 3 seasons into their tank.
Shai is performing at a superstar level, leading to people questioning whether it’s time the Thunder start cashing in on their rebuild and build a title contender alongside SGA. Not only do they have all their future assets, but they also have picks from other teams like the LA Clippers (who gave them SGA for Paul George) and the Houston Rockets.
The Thunder could package whatever they want into a contending squad if they so desired. However, tanking for Victor Wembanyama might be worth it for the Thunder. As a result, all contention talks might have to wait for next season, but can’t wait much longer after that.
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