Gilgeous-Alexander crafts a historically efficient scoring season, rivaling elite bigs and defying common efficiency misconceptions.
Although the Thunder picked up a disappointing loss to the Celtics last night, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put on a show. He scored 33 points on 10-of-12 shooting from the field and routinely set up wide-open triples for his teammates. Oklahoma City was +1 during Gilgeous-Alexander’s 36 minutes and -11 during the 12 minutes he rested.
The Thunder unfortunately shot 27.2% on three-point attempts outside of Gilgeous-Alexander, while the Celtics made 43.9% of its triples. This gap is very hard to overcome against a disciplined team like Boston who plays tough transition defense, crashes the glass and mostly avoids mistakes. Oklahoma City cannot afford to miss so many triples once the playoffs begin.
The surgical performance increased Gilgeous-Alexander’s true shooting percentage (TS%) to 67%, which is absolutely absurd for a high-volume guard. The fact that he’s only decimals behind Nikola Jokić (67.2%) is mind-boggling. Jokić is arguably the most gifted paint scorer the NBA has ever seen, and 58.3% of his field goal attempts have come from within 10 feet of the basket compared to 39.9% for Gilgeous-Alexander, per Basketball Reference. Jokić’s size advantage also inherently makes it easier for him to score.
Efficiency is Gilgeous-Alexander’s superpower. He leaves no meat on the bone and rarely wastes possessions via missed shots or turnovers. The Thunder subsequently thrive on the margins when its superstar is on the court. It also allows Mark Daigneault to trot out defensive-oriented lineups around Gilgeous-Alexander without seeing the offense utterly crater.
Meanwhile, offensive-oriented lineups become extremely difficult to stop because Gilgeous-Alexander has proper spacing and teammates who can attack off the catch. Check out the Thunder's offensive rating when the reigning league MVP is on the court with the following names. For context, Denver currently leads the NBA with a 120.5 offensive rating.
- Gilgeous-Alexander with Ajay Mitchell: 125.1 offensive rating
- Gilgeous-Alexander with Isaiah Joe: 123.4 offensive rating
- Gilgeous-Alexander with Jared McCain: 128.9 offensive rating
Overall, Gilgeous-Alexander’s 67% mark would be the highest single-season TS% in NBA history for a player who averaged at least 30 points per game. Stephen Curry’s magical 2016 season currently holds the record at 66.9%.
If Oklahoma City's superstar continues to play at this level, then he should win his second MVP and be the favorite to win Finals MVP over any other player in the league. It will be tough sledding over the final nine regular season games because the Thunder faces plenty of tough opponents during this stretch. San Antonio also sits two games back of the one seed, so there is no margin for error.