Breaking the Streak: Gilgeous-Alexander On Pace to be in All-Star Discussion

The glaring fixture missing from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s young resume is an All-Star Game selection.

With SGA off to a hot start this season and the clear leader of Oklahoma City, that could change for the fourth year guard.

Gilgeous-Alexander's 2020-21 season was also impressive prior to the All Star break, but an injury ended his season after just 35 games. In those games, Gilgeous-Alexander's stat line was similar in some key aspects to that of this season.

This season, through 25 games, he is averaging 21.6 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. In the 2020-21 season he averaged 23.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.

His points per game total ranks 19th in the league, fifth most among point guards and 10th of all guards.

In other categories his stats have come down, but are still effective enough to earn him mentions with other NBA stars. SGA is shooting the lowest field goal percentage of his career at just above 41% but he's also taking the most shots per game of his career, nearly 18 a contest.

Sticking with the stats, Gilgeous-Alexander is the unanimous star of the Thunder, followed by Lu Dort. Gilgeous-Alexander's leadership has led the young, inexperienced Thunder roster to wins over the quality teams while in the midst of a rebuild. While maintaining a player efficiency rating of 17.55.

With the All-Star Break still a ways out, the factor to monitor is the Thunder's record. OKC is closer to the No. 1 overall NBA draft pick than they are to a playoff spot. The Thunder sit at 10-19 and are near the bottom of the Western Conference.

In year four, Gilgeous-Alexander has fully embraced a leadership role while maintaining his production and helping to build the Thunder. For that alone, his name should be on a few All-Star ballots.

He would be the Thunder’s first All-Star selection since Chris Paul in the 2019-2020 season.

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