His Game Is Deeper Than You Think

His Game Is Deeper Than You Think

I kind of like that kid from OKC he is spectacular oh my go steps back on the three on the gild J gild Alexander is a star I really want to be one of the best ever played so like that’s the overall the goal kept saying you know Kawai Shay’s

Going to be a star but how long I said I don’t know how long but he’s going to be one we need to start talking about Shea gildas Alexander in a different way it’s not that the way he’s been discussed before was necessarily wrong but now we’ve got to start getting this right

The 21 sga’s back accurate not just because he dominates games below the three-point line but because he’s one of the top two-way players in the NBA and I’ll go A Step Beyond and just call SGA one of the most complete players in the world the offensive rise of SGA really

Began in the 201920 season his first with the Thunder after a promising rookie year with the Clippers he joined a transitioning Thunder team along with Chris Paul and actually was the leading scorer on a team headed for near 50 wins had that whole world shutting down thing not happened tonight has been postponed

Then the Thunder traded CP3 lean into a rebuild centered around sga’s Mega upside and in a season cut short by injury averaged 23.7 a game on really good efficiency no one can match your efficiency you’re ruthless he took another offensive step the next season the L go averaging a point more a game

While experimenting with some of his offensive game developing a step back three then refining and crafting his game to setup last season where he broke through with 31.4 points a game game on 51 3590 shooting splits and the first team all NBA selection where he led the

League in total 30o games he makes a lot of very sound points one thing to know about SGA you probably see the trend here too and it extends all the way back to middle school for him he is addicted to Improvement he finds something to get better at every season he even does

Things like take up new sports like tennis because he’s absolutely obsessed by the feeling of development he’s told me before one of his favorite things is sucking at something because that just means you can get that intoxicating Rush getting better at it strong take to the

10 and the left that was his approach in refining his jumper a couple summers ago breaking it down to the studs and then smoothing out the mechanics to become one of the best mid-range Shooters in the world dismisses he said before the off season is kind of his favorite part of the NBA

Season because that’s when he can dive deep into the craft and really hone his game and even with the elevation to one of the best scores in the game with a bag deeper than Mary Poppins you might think he’d be satisfied with that side but he’s still finding new things to

Develop first sh oh he bends inside and flicks it home he still relentlessly reps his step back three in practice settings for that moment that he’s going to need to lean on it again back three oh he hits working on breaking double teams and traps that opposing teams are

Now throwing at him on a nightly basis and he’s just consistently hammering away at every move counter move counter to the counter move to keep getting better SGA is a modern throwback a pure ethical Hooper if there was something that’s taken a noticeable leap for SGA this

Season at least to the common eye it’s been on the other end now before we die dive into sga’s defense keep in mind he’s always been a really good Defender at Kentucky that’s how he got on the floor in the first place with his lengthy frame and good instincts with

The Clippers as a rookie it’s why he was starting in the postseason matched up against Steph Curry shot Alexander and with the thunder it’s why OKC was able to play a three-point guard lineup successfully because of sga’s underrated defensive versatility where he can guard small forwards SJ has always been a very

Good defensive player but where the leap seems to have come is the nightly consistency to do it at an extremely high level that was a challenge from OKC coaches and to SJ individually to himself last season and he finished fifth in the league in steals and among

Guards first in blocks and among all players was sixth in stocks which is Steels plus blocks genus which is absurd when you combine that with scoring 30 points a game on the other side but this season SGA has leveled up again becoming the best thief in the NBA he leads the

League and steals by a comically wide margin and as of the moment of me recording this has had five games of five or more steals five last season there were 89 games total with someone having five Steals and the most anyone did it was five themselves and in blocks

Where he may be the best in the league from the guard position and again he’s top five in stocks he just takes it from people number one in the league in on ball steals his length is the physical tool but his anticipation and defensive intellect are the batteries that make it

Run he leads the league in deflections at almost four game he’s in the right spot all the time and just like on the offensive end he’s sneaky he’s slithery he’s crafty and he’s disciplined too he does it all without fouling at a high rate it’s not just the disruptive stuff

Either he’s one of the hardest players to score against he contests the most threes per game and maybe the best indicator he plays a ton of minutes for one of the best defensive teams in the NBA and here’s just some historical context to this sgaa had a streak

Earlier this season of 11 straight games with at least 25 points and two steals putting them alongside Michael Jordan and Allan Iverson as the only players to do that since 1973 1974 which is when they started tracking steals pretty good company to be in defense defense for good measure let’s also

Include the off Court elements of leadership and we’ll just call it Vibe the vibe down here the Ascension of a player the natural forces of the league often try to pull you away from your team more attention more individual recognition More Money More Everything But as SGA is with everything he’s

Intentional and aware of those forces there’s a gravity that pulls great players away from the team that’s just a natural force in the NBA and if you want to be a part of the team it has to be intentional when you’re on his level and to his credit he’s intentional and he

Plugs back in every single day I really like my teammates like genuinely like I got the group of guys it’s a special group of guys but I enjoy being around them and then I I prioritize winning and you can’t win alone I need every one of

Those guys to get done what I want to get done and one of the things he’s realized as he’s matured in the league is to get those individual ual things you have to bring the team with you I think what I figured out and it’s taking

Me a little bit when I think it takes most young guys a little bit to figure out is none of that stuff’s matter matters without your team um and I know it sounds cliche but I’ve for the past couple years now thought i’ been a pretty good basketball player and I can

Remember a lot of games this year where we won as a team and you can see it in our record and all that stuff just happens to follow the year that we’re a better team I don’t think it’s a coincidence I think to get stuff done individually and as a team it takes

Takes a whole group in his sixth season SGA is a legitimate MVP candidate and one of the absolute Undisputed best players in the world and he’s still just 25 years old in his very early Prime his best seasons are still ahead of him especially with that year-by-year stacking of holistic

Improv shot it time Jay on the step back Nails another three look I’m not comparing SGA to MJ but I’m just going to note sheay has a similar kind of game especially in that 6’6 two-way guard kind of way below the three-point line mid-range pull-ups a clear feel for the

Clutch but don’t overlook the other end Jordan was obviously obviously an offensive monster but he also made all def defense nine times and won a defensive player of the year award and a lot of those accolades came even before he started winning championships defensive player of the year was in 1988

His first all defense came that same year to which he then made every year until he retired from the Bulls again keep in mind MJ was 28 years old when he won his first title SGA still just 25 so if you even want to dream of being MJ

Levels of R which is what SGA wants you have to do it on both ends which is why sheay is two-way and number two smile little B just hit a Gamer

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has made monumental leaps in the NBA over recent seasons. Developing alongside the promising Oklahoma City Thunder, SGA has consistently proven to be much more than what many initially envisioned during his time with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Offensively, Gilgeous-Alexander rapidly ascended as a basketball prodigy. But more recently, he has consistently been showcasing how much of a dominant force he can be on the defensive side of the court as well.

Repeatedly, SGA has declared his ambition to become one of the all-time greatest basketball players. His two-way playing style, reminiscent of the legendary Michael Jordan, makes it increasingly easier to invision how the rising Shai Gilgeous-Alexander can do just that.

O:OO The Kid From OKC
0:33 A Different Way to Talk About Shai GIlgeous-Alexander
1:02 Offensive Rise of SGA
2:11 The Development of Shai GIlgeous-Alexander
3:48 The Defense of SGA
4:04 From Kentucky to LA Clippers to The Oklahoma City Thunder
5:08 Shai GIlgeous-Alexander vs The NBA
6:10 Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson, and SGA
6:40 The Vibes of Shai GIlgeous-Alexander
7:01 Mark Daigneault
7:30 OKC Thunder and SGA
8:07 Shai GIlgeous-Alexander and Michael Jordan
8:55 Defensive Feats of Michael Jordan