Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sets new NBA record in historic regular season

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has consistently been one of the best guards in the NBA over the last few seasons, but he hasn’t necessarily received the national attention a guard putting up numbers like his has.

That’s mainly because of his team’s lack of success. The Oklahoma City Thunder again were expected to be at the bottom of the West this season, especially as No. 2 overall pick Chet Holmgren missed the entire year.

That didn’t matter to SGA, as he had one of the most efficient regular seasons in NBA history, becoming the youngest guard to average 30 points per game while shooting over 50% from the field.

At just 24 years of age, SGA ended the regular season with a career-high 31.4 points per game. His previous career high was 24.5, so the improvement was significant. He shot a career-high 51% from the field while chipping in 5.5 assists and 4.8 boards per contest.

The Thunder also finished 10th in the Western Conference, earning a spot in the play-in tournament where they just defeated the New Orleans Pelicans in the 9 vs. 10 elimination game.

You’ll be shocked to hear SGA had another 30+ point game with 50% shooting.

This time, the former Wildcat racked up 32 points on 11/22 shooting with five rebounds and three assists vs. just two turnovers in 41 minutes, helping the Thunder win 123-118.

OKC will now face Karl-Anthony Towns and the Minnesota Timberwolves in Friday’s elimination game. That will see the winner become the 8-seed and face the Jamal Murray-led Denver Nuggets in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.

A first-time All-Star this past season, SGA played his first year with the Los Angeles Clippers and has spent the last four with the OKC Thunder after being part of the Paul George trade.

This former Cat clearly has a bright future ahead of him, and it seems like he will lead the Thunder for quite some time as they become one of the most promising up-and-coming franchises in the NBA.

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