After landing in Oklahoma City as a sidekick on a team with playoff aspirations, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has since become the lynchpin of rebuilding the franchise.
In his first year in the Thunder jersey, he savored the playoffs alongside Chris Paul and Dennis Schröder. However, the roster revolution has lowered the team’s aspirations to draft at the highest possible position in the draft.
While he would like to fight for more wins, Gilgeous-Alexander has indicated that he is enjoying his role as the Thunder’s top offensive benchmark. “Yes absolutely. It is something I dreamed of when I was a child », affirmed the guard for the journalist of The Athletic Joe Vardon. «Everybody wants to be that guy, you know what I mean? When you have such great pressure, you get great rewards. “
With opposing defenses more attentive to him, Gilgeous-Alexander – at the express request of manager Mike Daigneault – is attacking the paint more assiduously than any other NBA player, with 22.4 attempts per game. And only Ja Morant surpasses him in basket attempts and in points in these situations.
«I love driving to the basket and putting pressure on the defenses. I think this is how the best offense is generated, “said the player. It’s something that I take pride in my game. I feel like I’ve added another layer to my game. Now teams are better at pick-and-roll, you help them, defending myself closer, sending help,… which ultimately is respecting me as a player. »
Two months ago, Gilgeous-Alexander made it very clear what his goal is on an individual level: to be one of the best point guards in history. However, the collective performance of a rebuild does not support these expectations. Maybe not even the challenge of being an All-Star. «If it happens, it happens [disputar el All-Star Game de 2022]. If I’m not going to keep working for it, ”said Shai. But it’s hard not to be as competitive as you want to be.
Despite being a transitional year, the Thunder haven’t gotten off to a particularly bad start to the season. They currently occupy the tenth position in the Western Conference with a balance of six wins and eight losses.
(Cover photo by Katelyn Mulcahy / Getty Images)
