Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – Oklahoma City Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder may be one of the worst teams in the league this season, but they have one of the best players in the league 23-years-old or younger. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is getting ready to begin his fourth season in the league and will be playing under a new five-year, $170M+ extension that he signed this offseason to remain in OKC through the 2026-27 season.
Keeping him long-term was a no-brainer move for the Thunder to make, especially after Gilgeous-Alexander emerged as a potential All-Star last year. He only played in 35 games due to a foot injury that caused the young combo-guard to miss the remainder of the season, but prior to getting injured, SGA was averaging 23.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and shooting 50.8% from the floor, 41.8% from three-point range.
Those are All-Star-like numbers and if he had stayed healthy, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander could have very much made his first All-Star appearance last season!
After spending some years learning from guys like Lou Williams, Patrick Beverley, Chris Paul, Dennis Schroder, and even another veteran like Danilo Gallinari, Gilgeous-Alexander has turned himself into an all-around threat who can play with or without the ball in his hands.
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Acting as a combo-guard for Oklahoma City, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is “the guy” for one of the youngest teams in the league. He not only brings the ball up the court for them, but SGA is always the guy Oklahoma City leans on for a bucket when they need one.
Some may say he is putting up “empty stats” on a bad team, much like the narrative was for Devin Booker over the years before the Suns recently made the NBA Finals, but this is not the case here.
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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is an insanely good guard in this league and if he can stay out there for a full season, he may not only make the All-Star Game for the first time in his career, but he could possibly go on to win Most Improved Player, even if the Thunder finish as the worst team in the NBA!
