Thunder End of Year Report Card: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

SGA used a strong close to the season to raise his averages to career-high territories.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander steadily improved all season long and was red-hot in his final stretch.

SGA averaged a career-high 24.5 points to go along with 5.9 assists and five rebounds. His 24.5 points per night, he now holds the NBA record for points per game by a Canadian player.

Gilgeous-Alexander was one of the best players in the NBA post All-Star break offensively. In the month of March, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged an eye-popping 29 points, 7.5 assists and 5.8 rebounds.

During that stretch, he shot 52% overall and 39.5% from 3-point range.

Even though the Thunder star wasn’t able to finish the season healthily, he was still able to get a bigger sample size than last season. His 56 games played give Thunder fans less to worry about.

Overall, the season was a success for Gilgeous-Alexander, who truly made strides in many areas of his game. His progression over the summer could vault the Thunder into the playoffs next season.

Report Card Grade: B+

Alonzo Adams / USA Today

The two things holding SGA back from an ‘A’ grade is not playing a full season and a dip in shooting splits.

While he ended up shooting 45.3% from the floor and 30% from 3-point range, it took a scorching hot February and March to bring those averages up.

Part of it can be attributed to reworking his jumpsuit, but Gilgeous-Alexander was in the high 20% range for a good portion of the season. He really struggled from deep at points.

Overall, he averaged a career-high scoring the ball, rebounding the ball and tied his career-high for assists per night. He was far and away the Thunder’s best and most valuable player.

Defensively

Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

Gilgeous-Alexander showed growth on the defensive end this season. He has the size and length to be an elite NBA defender.

He finished the year averaging a career-high 1.3 steals and 0.8 blocks per game. His uptick in steals is important for the Thunder, as they always want to make it easy for SGA to run in transition.

He’s not the best on-ball defender, but he’s learning how to be smart and creative. The stats back it up this season.

Offensively

© Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

Offensively, Gilgeous-Alexander experienced career-high’s and lots of big moments. He had the ball in his hands at the end of many close games and continued to deliver.

The most impressive part of SGA’s season was his ability to continue scoring at the highest clip despite the different defensive looks he received. Nearly all of Gilgeous-Alexander’s points were self-created.

According to NBA.com’s stats, Gilgeous-Alexander ranked third behind Luka Doncic and Chris Paul in unassisted field goals made. The Thunder star netted 83.2% of his points coming off of his own self-creation.

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