No one would say that the Oklahoma City Thunder are truly ready to make a strong playoff run this season but it is hard to deny that they are a fun team to watch.
Right now, the team sits in 13th place in the West with an 18-22 record, far from even reaching the play-in tournament.
But they have won their last two games, including a tough victory over the Dallas Mavericks without Luka Doncic.
SGA tonight:
33 PTS
5 REB
5 AST
11-17 FGOnly Luka has more 30-point games this season. pic.twitter.com/d6MXkzkicU
— StatMuse (@statmuse) January 9, 2023
In just about every win, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been front-and-center.
Gilgeous-Alexander had a stellar Sunday night, scoring 33 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists on 11-of-17 from the field.
So far this season, only Doncic himself has more 30-point games.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s average for the year is 30.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 5.6 assists on 50.1%.
He has been a great player for several seasons now but there is no doubt that 2022-23 is his best year and he has taken his game up a notch – or two or three of them, to be precise.
There are many people saying that Gilgeous-Alexander should be in this year’s All-Star game, which would be a first for his career.
He’s well on his way to doing just that, as he scored 911,774 votes in the first batch of fan voting for the upcoming game.
With all this greatness and the attention that’s come with it, there are those who speculate that Gilgeous-Alexander could leave the Thunder within the next few years.
It’s no secret that the Toronto Raptors have their eyes on him and are waiting to see if he wants to leave OKC.
But what happens if he sticks around and waits for the debut of Chet Holmgren and continues to foster a positive, exciting environment with the Thunder?
Is this just the start of Gilgeous-Alexander’s rise?
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