As Oklahoma City’s supporting cast evolves, the superstar's statistical dip could signal a championship-ready roster. Discover why less production from SGA might actually make the Thunder more dangerous.
There a few things in life that are guaranteed. Taxes and one day that we will all no longer exist. At this point, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scoring 30 points feels almost on those levels.
That’s a pretty ridiculous thing to say about anybody.
Thirty points is supposed to be a big night. With Gilgeous-Alexander, it has somehow become the expectation.
So here’s a question worth asking before the season starts: What happens if Shai Gilgeous-Alexander doesn’t score 30?
Not once or twice. What if there are stretches where he’s scoring 25, 27 or 28 points instead? Would the Thunder be in trouble?
That could tell us a lot about how good this team has become. Because the Oklahoma City Thunder shouldn’t need him to score 30 every night anymore.
That’s not a knock on him. It’s actually the opposite.
The better the Thunder become around Gilgeous-Alexander, the less they should need him to do everything.
There were times during his rise to superstardom when it felt like Oklahoma City needed him to have a monster game just to have a chance. If he scored 35, great. If he scored 40, even better.
That’s not really where this team should be anymore.
Chet Holmgren is becoming a bigger offensive piece. Jalen Williams is already a star when he’s healthy. Cason Wallace is capable of making plays. Ajay Mitchell has become a consistent offensive piece. And the Thunder have a bunch of guys who can knock down shots or create something when the ball finds them.
That’s a completely different situation for Gilgeous-Alexander.
Imagine him scoring 27 points, but Williams has 24 and Holmgren has 23. That’s 74 points from your top three without Gilgeous-Alexander having to go into takeover mode.
That’s scary.
And it might actually make Gilgeous-Alexander even harder to guard. Defenses aren’t going to look at 27 points and think, “Well, I guess we contained him.”
They’re still going to throw everything at him. They’re still going to worry about his ability to get wherever he wants on the floor. They’re still going to send extra help.
And when they do, somebody else is going to be standing there with an opportunity.
That’s the part of this Thunder team that could be really fun. He doesn’t have to win every game by himself anymore.
There are going to be nights when he has 40+ and looks unstoppable. That’s still going to happen. There will be playoff games when Oklahoma City needs him to take over and remind everybody why he’s one of the best players in the world.
But there should also be nights when Gilgeous-Alexander scores 26 and nobody cares because the Thunder won by 15. Those might actually be some of the most encouraging games of the season.
Because the goal isn’t for him to score as many points as possible. The goal is to win.
And if Oklahoma City reaches a point where Gilgeous-Alexander can have a relatively quiet scoring night and the Thunder still control the game, that’s a sign the roster around him has taken another step.
We’ve spent years watching Shai Gilgeous-Alexander carry more and more of the responsibility. Now let’s see what happens when he doesn’t have to. And honestly, that might be one of the most important developments of the entire season.
