Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 'As Good Or Better Than Luka Doncic'

Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is in Canada preparing for the FIBA World Cup with his international team. As he does so, ESPN went on to compliment and praise him.

“The Canadians enter this tournament, arguably with the single best player in the entire field, in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He’s as good, or better than Luka Doncic and anybody the American team has," ESPN's Tim Bontemps said.

For Gilgeous-Alexander to be coming off his first All-Star appearance, is high praise. However, the Thunder guard was building for this moment and was a fringe All-Star in years past.

This time around, Gilgeous-Alexander not only made the leap to being an All-Star but made the leap to become a superstar. He found himself earning first-team All-NBA honors.

The Canadian averaged 31.4 points per game, 4.8 rebounds per game and 5.5 assists per game last season. Not only did he produce incredible numbers, but he did so efficiently, shooting 51 percent from the field and 35 percent on 3-pointers.

The biggest difference between Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic and Gilgeous-Alexaner is that the Thunder doesn't run a heliocentric offense.

The two players have earned comparisons in the past on podcast appearances, and it's likely because the two both play within their own pace of the game. Both are able to control the offense however they want to.

Another angle of the game that benefits Gilgeous-Alexander is defense, and it's largely attributed to the effort each player puts in on that end. The Thunder star led by example this past season, averaging 1.6 steals per game and one block per game.

Doncic's team runs entirely through him the majority of the time, though the addition of Kyrie Irving changes things, and this changes how the two players can be compared.

While Doncic's counting stats are better, the two dominate the game in different styles. It's hard to make a real argument either way and the parameters for what being a "better player" means has to be clearly defined.

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