SGA, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren dominated, each earning Player of the Week nominations. Their historic collective performance fuels Thunder's early-season success.
I made an argument in this very space during the preseason that the Oklahoma City Thunder boast the best Big 3 in the NBA. And after just their second week playing together this season, the trio of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren were each nominated for the Western Conference Player of the Week honor.
Jamal Murray ended up taking home the weekly award, but it's a rare feat for one team to claim three of six nominations for the best performance over one week in an entire conference.
Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 35.5 points on ridiculous shooting splits. The Thunder superstar shot 69.7 from the field, 87.5% from deep and 81.8% from the free throw line. He also averaged 4 rebounds, 5 assists and only 1 turnover per game. Had the reigning MVP not missed his first game of the season against the Utah Jazz on Sunday, there's a decent chance he could've been named Player of the Week for the third time this season.
Holmgren averaged 20.3 points over OKC's three wins over the Warriors, Mavericks and Jazz. He shot 68.4% from the field, 44.4% from distance and 62.5% from the charity stripe. Holmgren pulled down 8.3 rebounds, dished 1.7 assists and blocked 1.3 shots per game. The 23 year old continues his impressive third season leap with an All-Star nod and Defensive Player of the Year trophy both very much within his 7'6" reaching distance.
Williams is maybe the most surprising and impressive name to be nominated for a weekly Player of the Week honor this season in either conference. Of course, the All-NBA selection is one of the best players in the league, but this was just his second week back after not playing a single minute since Game 7 of the NBA Finals. He averaged 20.7 points on 54.3% shooting from the field and went a perfect 100% from the free throw line. Williams was back to his stat sheet stuffing ways with averages of 4.7 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.3 steals. The Santa Clara product had his jersey retired from his collegiate alma mater and was nominated as one of the best six players in the conference over the past seven days. Not a bad second week back in action.
The Thunder Big 3 have only played together for a total of four games so far this season. And all they've done is go undefeated, put up big numbers and further strengthen my preseason proclamation.