Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Has Improved His Leadership Skills During MVP Campaign
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's run on the court this season has been remarkable. He's in the Top-2 of the MVP conversation next to Nikola Jokic and has led Oklahoma City to the current No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. With a strong stretch to finish the season, the noise behind his MVP campaign could grow louder.
His original breakout started a season ago when he was an All-Star for the first time and averaged over 30 points per game. This season, he has proved it was no fluke, and he's setting himself up to be one of the top players in the world for the foreseeable future. Last season was an indictment of his improvement on the court. The Thunder won 40 games and qualified for the play-in tournament.
This season, he has improved parts of his game on the court for sure, but an underrated aspect in his development has been his leadership in the locker room. Before the deadline, Gilgeous-Alexander was one of the lone veterans on this team, and veteran is a loose term there considering he's only 25 years old.
Lu Dort, who has been next to Gilgeous-Alexander throughout the entire rebuild, has had an inside look at how his leadership qualities have evolved. It's inspiring the team's play.
"His leadership," Dort told Thunder media members when asked about his teammate's growth. "Him being vocal and getting us going before games and stuff like that has been huge. Just how he approaches games at the same time, it's just really big. Us as teammates, we see that and we just can't wait to get on the court to battle with him. It has been impressive."
Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 30.1 points, 6.3 assists and 5.7 rebounds a game while shooting an astonishing 54.4% from 3-point range. His efficiency has gone up and his defensive impact has been noticeable.
A handful of teammates and coaches have now listed his off-court qualities this season as a part of Oklahoma City's success, and the results have backed it up. This team follows Gilgeous-Alexander's lead, and he's clearly leading well.
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