Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is Rolling Again on Offense

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is finally cooking.

Fresh off a five year, $172 million contract extension, the Oklahoma City Thunder point guard had a slow start to the season by his standards.

Through the first two games, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 15.5 points per game, which while not bad by any means, seemed somewhat pedestrian from what he had put on tape in limited action last season.

But in the second half against the Philadelphia 76ers, Gilgeous-Alexander has come alive.

Since then, the Thunder guard has averaged 28.6 points per game, including a monster 17-point third quarter on Wednesday night to fuel a 26-point comeback victory.

The slow start is understandable considering a foot injury saw Gilgeous-Alexander miss the last 37 games of last season.

Despite his scoring punch, Gilgeous-Alexander continues to excel in all areas of the game. OKC head coach Mark Daigneault said his selfishness has been one of the more impressive aspects of his game, pointing out a key possession down the stretch against the Lakers where the point guard was content to help the team without the ball in his hands.

“The (Josh) Giddey to (Derrick) Favors play with under a minute to go, he decoyed,” Daigneault said after the victory over the Lakers on Wednesday. “He was a screen setter on that play. So he’s a guy, like I’ve said before, his awareness and investment in the team and his teammates is pretty special for a really ambitious young player.

“He’s just got unbelievable balance between his own ambition and his willingness to plug into the team, and it’s a contagious effect.”

The patience and the playmaking, Gilgeous-Alexander said, comes as a result of his insistence on taking what the defense is giving him, allowing him to get his teammates involved early and often.

“I wanted to let the game come to me in the third quarter, not force it,” he said after the Lakers win. “And then a couple of possessions, the shot clock went down and I had to go and make a play and I made a few of them. I felt good. I felt hot and I just tried to keep it going and try to ride the momentum.”

And on Wednesday, the Los Angeles defense dictated that Gilgeous-Alexander should get it going himself in the third quarter.

Checked by former Thunder star Russell Westbrook, Gilgeous-Alexander attacked relentlessly. As a result, Gilgeous-Alexander shot 5-of-7 from the floor, knocking down 4-of-6 attempts from deep, dominating the former OKC star.

He punctuated his heroics with a banked 3-pointer as time expired to give the Thunder the lead heading into the fourth, announcing to the league that he’s back healthy and ready to attack defenses again.

And in the process, Gilgeous-Alexander may have announced to Thunder fans that all will be okay in the future, and that they truly have found their next star to fully get behind after cooking Westbrook over and over. 

Want to join the discussion? Like SI Thunder on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.