SGA Career High: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Stuns Damian Lillard and Co.

After years of being ignored, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is now forcing the league to take notice. He is almost fighting a battle to just be recognized for the exceptional talent he is. While, until now, he has mostly been on the fringes, he is now heading towards certain stardom.

Shai is, simply put, a bucket. He is efficient, he is creative, and he has that incessant hunger to win and do his best. This season is quickly turning into a launch pad for the OKC youngster. He is averaging 30.8 points per game on 50.6 FG%. Tonight was especially valuable for SGA as he tied his career-high points in a game.

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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scores 44 points against Portland

Shai was absolutely beautiful tonight against the Trail Blazers. He was a huge problem for their defense and scored virtually from every spot. In fact, he felt so comfortable going after Portland tonight that ended up matching his career-high points in a game.

Gilgeous-Alexander had 44 points in just 39.20 minutes of playing. He made 13 of his 16 field goals on an 81.3 field goal percentage.  This is the second time Shai has scored 44 in his career.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tonight:

44 PTS (Career-High)
3 REB
7 AST
3 STL
81.3 FG%

Unreal. pic.twitter.com/Tmh1sDrk8Z

— NBA Muse (@NBAMuse24) February 11, 2023

Fascinatingly, his last 44-point performance also happened this season. He dropped 44 points for the first time in his career against the New Orleans Pelicans in December.

For the OKC, this is an exciting opportunity. They can benefit from Shai in multiple ways. He can either be packaged as an exceptional guard for trade. Or as the face of the franchise around which the OKC builds its team. Hopefully, for the OKC loyals, it turns out to be the latter.

To be fair, most teams will readily accept SGA in their ranks. He has shown a lot of promise in the last few years. And add his growth from this season to the mix and we have a blockbuster trade in our hands.

Shai needs to be traded

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is too good to still be on the OKC roster. His versatility will be a great fit for a team like the Lakers who are looking for a guard capable of creating their own shots.

If the OKC can’t manage to build a more competitive team around Shai, then there will be no reason for him to stay for too long. Especially now that he has become a certified star. Do you think he will pick loyalty over the chance of winning a championship?

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