Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's Iso-Forward Play Style is Front and Center Early this Season

The NBA's reigning MVP has came out swinging, and in his team's favor.

Nov 9, 2025; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) handles the ball as Memphis Grizzlies forward Cedric Coward (23) defends during the first quarter at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the guy who won the NBA's Most Valuable Player award a year ago, the guy who brought a title back to a city that never fathomed it would ever see a Larry O'Brien trophy before the franchise came to town back in 2008—Gilgeous-Alexander's been that guy in Oklahoma City for some time now.

But as we move on, he's now building a legacy in Thunder blue.

At just 27-years old, Gilgeous-Alexander has solidified himself as a top talent in this league. Someone who can score the ball in any preparation, who can affect the game at any given time due to his gravity.

Knowing that, teams try their absolute hardest and prepare to the utmost extent to try to stop this man. And with the depth and cohesion of this Oklahoma City team which Gilgeous-Alexander has helped foster, you can't just be dialed on the Thunder superstar and have its offense buttoned up.

You have Jalen Williams (not at the moment due to injury rebab), Chet Holmgren, Aaron Wiggins, Cason Wallace, Isaiah Joe and now Ajay Mitchell, all of these players have proved they can go get a score when it's needed—and there's many more that weren't listed who could probably do the same.

With this versatility brings sacrifice for opposing teams. And with the talent and skill that Gilgeous-Alexander possesses, he's going to heat up on offense virtually every night.

As it stands now 11 games into the 2025-26 season, the defending MVP is still getting his own, night in and night out. An isolation ball maestro, the 6-foot-6 guards currently leads all players in iso possessions per game with 72 on the year, and also leads the league in unassisted scoring rate at 82.3% among players who have played all 11 games thus far.

Yes, that was read right. 82.3% of his baskets are unassisted—looking on the flip side, Gilgeous-Alexander is bottom in the league in assisted scoring rate at 17.7%, illustrating just how lethal he is at getting his own bucket.

That's all done while averaging 33.2 points per game on 52.1% shooting, the third most points per contest in the NBA to this point.

Last year's scoring champ isn't letting up. And with a game as smooth and efficient as his, why would you?