FILE – Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander watches free throws throughout Sport 4 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff collection towards the Dallas Mavericks Monday, Might 13, 2024, in Dallas. (AP Photograph/Tony Gutierrez, File)
OKLAHOMA CITY — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander spent a number of years in Oklahoma Metropolis as an unheralded scorer on a shedding workforce in a small market.
Then, he improved his protection and have become an All-Star. Then the Thunder shocked the league and began successful, and Gilgeous-Alexander was named an All-Star once more.
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Now, for the primary time in his profession, the Canadian guard isn’t flying below the radar. He’s one of many league’s elite gamers on what is predicted to be one among its finest groups. He completed second within the league MVP balloting final season because the Thunder earned the highest seed within the NBA Western Convention playoffs.
READ: NBA: Thunder commerce Josh Giddey to Bulls for Alex Caruso
“He is such a superb participant and a wise participant that it is simple to plug in any workforce… lucky it is our workforce.”
SGA on the Thunder including Alex Caruso ⛈️#NBAMediaDay pic.twitter.com/UifqPj2hrD
— NBA (@NBA) September 30, 2024
Gilgeous-Alexander calmly deflected questions on his private targets and mentioned he and the Thunder will stay centered, even when others view them in a different way due to their current success.
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“It doesn’t change something for us,” he mentioned at media day on Monday. “Our largest focus has been all the time day-to-day and attempting to be higher day by day, attempting to get higher day by day, be higher than we had been yesterday. I believe that’s why we bought to the place we had been final 12 months, and I believe us not altering that mentality and retaining that the identical is in our greatest curiosity, and that’s what we’re going to proceed to do.”
It seems like a mature method, and that is smart. At 26, Gilgeous-Alexander is not the younger man. He’s heading into his sixth 12 months on the workforce and is among the many longest-tenured gamers on the roster.
Gilgeous-Alexander mentioned the Thunder by no means fearful about exterior opinions, even once they went 22-50 in 2020-’21 and 24-58 in 2021-’22. He mentioned Oklahoma Metropolis made the leap from reaching the Play-In Event two years in the past to the second spherical of the playoffs final season by staying the course.
Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins mentioned Gilgeous-Alexander has made regular progress on and off the court docket, and that has accelerated the turnaround.
“After I got here in, Shai was a do-it sort of chief the place he would present that he was able to being an expert, addressing sure issues that could be happening within the recreation and stuff like that,” Wiggins mentioned. “As we’ve continued to form of develop and being on the identical workforce and stuff, he’s form of been just a little bit extra vocal and continued to form of develop in that management function.”
READ: NBA: Younger Thunder brimming with optimism after playoff exit
Gilgeous-Alexander’s phrases matter, partially, as a result of he places up elite numbers. The primary-team All-NBA choice averaged 30.1 factors, 5.5 rebounds and 6.2 assists per recreation final season. He shot 53.5% from the sector and 87.4% from the free-throw line and tied for the league lead with 150 complete steals.
He continued his dominance on the Olympics. Canada was one of many favorites and went unbeaten in pool play earlier than shedding to France within the quarterfinals. Gilgeous-Alexander nonetheless was named to the Olympics All-Second Workforce after averaging 21 factors, 4.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists.
“Shai was doing the principle factor, all of the stuff he’s all the time doing on the court docket,” Lu Dort, Gilgeous-Alexander’s teammate with the Thunder and Canada, mentioned. “To share the court docket with him representing our nation — I really feel like all of us did our half on representing our nation properly. It was a terrific expertise for each of us.”
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Now that the Thunder’s season has arrived, Gilgeous-Alexander is simply as centered on the little issues as the massive ones. When coaching camp begins Tuesday, the Thunder will formally begin attempting to assist mix two key new gamers — heart Isaiah Hartenstein and guard Alex Caruso — right into a well-established group throughout coaching camp.
“Particularly this time, that is like, we’re bonding, ensuring we’re doing issues collectively,” Gilgeous-Alexander mentioned. “Particularly with our new additions, we wish to ensure we preserve and maintain our camaraderie. Little issues like which are on my thoughts proper now.”
