Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the saving grace for the underperforming OKC squad. He is the only one capable of truly impacting the game and putting up a fierce battle against even the most competitive teams.
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This season has been Shai’s magnum opus. He’s outperformed each of his past performances at least until now. Just in his 5th year in the league, the 6ft 6″ point guard has deeply impressed the league with his evolution. The latest man to join the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander fan club is Celtics Legend, Kevin Garnett.
Kevin Garnett believes Shai Gilgeous-Alexander could have won the MVP in a ‘Normal year’
After the 24-year-old point guard carried his team to victory against the formidable Denver Nuggets, Kevin Garnett took to his Twitter to commend the youngster on his ‘MVP-type performance. He wrote:
“Those are MVP type numbers in a normal year that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is puttin up in OKC… and it’s high IQ and efficient than a mf! These young guys are gonna do the league right. We good…”
— Kevin Garnett (@KevinGarnett5KG) January 23, 2023
Garnett’s praise is justified and, to be fair, also logical. Shai is indeed putting up MVP-caliber numbers and may have won the Michael Jordan Trophy in a normal year. By a normal year, Garnett essentially means a season when the scoring output was a little more controlled.
This season 5 players are averaging 30+ points and there are multiple players who are on the cusp of also averaging 30 ppg. Any other season and Shai could have been easily the top scorer in the league but this season is different. This is what Kevin Garnett meant by a normal year.
Shai is averaging 30.6 points per game
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been killing it this season. He is currently averaging an incredible 30.6 points per game. However, that’s not the only impressive thing about his stat line. In addition to the scoring, Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 5.5 assists, 4.8 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and 1 block per game.
Moreover, Shai is shooting 50.7% from the field. He is also shooting 90.7% from the free-throw line making him one of the most precise shooters in the league. Unfortunately, Shai’s 3-pt% is too low for him to be eligible for the 40-50-90 club. But that might change in the upcoming seasons.
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