The Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been one of the best performers in the NBA so far this season. In his outstanding first few weeks, he has willed the Thunder to a 6-8 record, which isn’t impressive, but far from what was expected heading into the season.
Even though the Thunder lost to the Boston Celtics on Monday, they still have a reputation for being a well-built, rising squad. So far this season, Oklahoma has shown massive improvement in scoring. Last season, they were at the bottom of the league with 103.7 points per game. This year, they’ve refined their offense, allowing them to score at least 116.3 points, which is good enough for seventh place in the NBA.
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All this has become possible, thanks to the aggressiveness that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has displayed. The Thunder is still below .500, but that could all change if SGA stays consistent in his play. What he has done so far in 2022 is helping the 6-foot-6 guard build a strong case for winning the NBA Most Improved Player award.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been aggressively efficient
Out of all the candidates to win the MIP award, Gilgeous-Alexander has the best case as the only one averaging at least 30 points among the valid candidates. SGA has increased his involvement in the Thunder’s offense.
In his previous campaign, the Canadian guard averaged 24.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 5.9 while shooting over 45.3% from the field and 30% from three. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s stats from last is already impressive as is. However, he managed to surprise everyone this season by outperforming himself. The young Thunder guard is averaging 31.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 5.8 assists. He’s also shooting at a very efficient rate, shooting over 53.9% from the field and 37.8% from beyond the arc.
One thing to keep note of is that Shai has increased the volume of his shots on the floor. Last year, he averaged 18.8 field goal attempts per game. This year, he’s attempting up to 21.5 a game and making them at a high rate. An increased volume while improving his field goal percentage shows how much Gilgeous-Alexander’s grown as a scorer.
Defensively, he’s also improved his skills. From having 1.3 steals and 0.8 blocks last season, Shai has been getting 2.1 steals and 1.5 blocks this season.
Oklahoma City Thunder’s record could affect SGA’s case for winning the MIP award
Although, there’s a decent chance of SGA losing the award to players like Lauri Markkanen and Desmond Bane. As both those players are also having a career year. The only thing that can help Gilgeous-Alexander’s case is if the Thunder starts racking up more wins.
As far as improvement, he’s shown that he has grown as a player. SGA’s performances this year haven’t gone unnoticed, and he’s on the path to becoming the new leader of the young Thunder squad. As long as the team adds more wins to their record, Gilgeous-Alexander could take the MIP award home by the end of this season.