Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been the best player for the Oklahoma City Thunder since the departure of Chris Paul last year. He has become the building block for the Thunder as they slowly lost out on their incredible, future MVP core of Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook.
The Thunder are clearly a work-in-progress, but the idea is to build a future contender around Shai going forward. His game has gotten more polished over the last few seasons in OKC, and the franchise has stockpiled draft picks in order to get a team that can dominate the NBA going forward.
And now, SGA is leading the league in isolation points, ahead of two other former OKC stalwarts. Gilgeous-Alexander is currently leading the NBA in isolation points with 66. Behind him are James Harden with 56, and Kevin Durant with 54. The fact that Shai is leading the league, ahead of two former MVPs is a big achievement for him.
Most isolation points this season:
66 — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
58 — James Harden
56 — Kevin Durant pic.twitter.com/Ex5GWal1gE
— StatMuse (@statmuse) November 2, 2021
So far, there are no expectations from the Thunder to have a great season. But given how Shai has progressed over the last few years, many expect him to become an All-Star this season. And so far, his numbers make a good case for that kind of recognition this year.
SGA is currently averaging 22.9 points per game and is shining this season. He recently signed a 5 year, $172 million contract extension, pushing the 2018 draft class extensions above $1 billion. And as of now, he is proving why OKC made the right call by extending his contract.
Going forward, OKC will be careful about how they build their team around him. Some rumors suggest that the team wants to sign Colin Sexton in order to form an imposing duo with Sexton and Shai, one that could help them reach the heights they did with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.
