Thunder Guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Using Old School Style to Succeed
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is turning back the clock.
In a league where teams are shooting 3-point shots at high rates and shooting in general at high clips, Gilgeous-Alexander is hanging with the best scorers in the league without.
Gilgeous-Alexander is 7th in the league in scoring with 30.8 points per game.
SGA has shot just one 3-pointer in his last four games. In OKC’s game on Monday night, Gilgeous-Alexander did not record an attempt from behind the arc.
The change in his shot came suddenly after the first few games. In OKC’s first two games SGA shot 11 times from beyond the arc. The next two games he shot a combined six.
Since then the Thunder star has shot just six combined in the last five games.
Still, Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging near the top of the entire league in points. He’s the only player in the NBA shooting less than three 3-point shots per game to rank in the top 20 of scorers.
A year after shooting 5.3 attempts per game, he is now shooting just 2.6, which places him seventh on the OKC roster. The drop in attempts has led to an increased field goal percentage and more points.
Gilgeous-Alexander isn’t the most prolific 3-point shooter, he’s shooting 34.7% for his career, but he’s been hovering around 30% last season into this season.
While the rest of the league’s top players are working on expanding their games to the style Steph Curry made popular of deep 3-point attempts, Gilgeous-Alexander is dipping back into the old era of basketball and pushing the ball inside.
The change in play has led him to be on track for a career year and possibly his first All-Star nod.
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