Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Durability Remains His Most Underrated Asset

Durability has become a pretty big talking point in the modern NBA. Not only are teams looking for availability when giving rising stars big contracts, but players are needing to stay available to qualify for end-of-season awards. Many contracts are incentivized by postseason awards, too, which makes availability all the more important.

Oklahoma City has been lucky enough to enjoy postseason injury fortune, as the Thunder won its first NBA Finals relatively injury free. Over the past three regular seasons, though, injuries have haunted the Thunder.

Starting with Chet Holmgren's season-ending injury right before his rookie season, Oklahoma City has had an unfortunate stretch of promising first-round picks suffering similar fates. Both Nikola Topic and Thomas Sorber suffered season-ending injuries before their rookie season, too.

Outside of rookies, Jalen Williams and Isaiah Hartenstein have both missed time to begin the season the last two years. Holmgren suffered another major injury a season ago. Alex Caruso has been in and out of the lineup with bumps and bruises. Ajay Mitchell missed nearly half a season a year ago. There have been a handful more, too.

But the one constant remaining through it all has been Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — the example of durability through it all. Not only has he been the standard of durability on Oklahoma City's roster, but also across the NBA as a whole, too. Over the last two seasons, Gilgeous-Alexander has played 75 or more games. So far this season, he has only missed a single outing, playing in 34 of Oklahoma City's 35 games.

The NBA has placed plenty of focus on eliminating "resting" and stars sitting out of games for no real reason, but that has never been a problem for the Thunder superstar. With his availability every night, he also has been able to qualify for postseason awards. Of course, injuries are unavoidable, and a handful of players have had poor luck resulting in not qualifying for awards. But Gilgeous-Alexander's availability has become one of his best, and most underrated, abilities.

His motor and output stays consistent, too, no matter how many games he plays in and how much rest he got the night before. His efficiency is truly impressive. This season, with only missing a single game, he's averaging 32.1 points, 6.4 assists, and 4.6 rebounds while shooting 56.1% from the floor and 42.5% from the 3-point line.

Leading the 30-5 Thunder, he has a good chance to win his second straight MVP, an impressive and extremely rare feat, too. With all of his generational qualities on the floor, though, his availability and durability is near the top of the list.