Oklahoma City Thunder: Analyst Makes Wild Claim About Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Game 4 Performance

Yardbarker’s Sai Mohan wrote about SGA’s performance during the Thunder’s 100-96 Game 4 win where they barely contained a strong Dallas Mavericks side with their scoring.

SGA was the leading man for OKC as he finished the game with 34 points, which leads all players that stepped on the hardwood. He shot 14-for-27 on the floor, making him a very efficient scorer.

However, what’s surprising is that Shai only attempted one three-point shot throughout the 42 minutes he was on the floor. That kind of performance is usually reserved for games in the 90s, not in the 2020s where every team in the league is always scrambling to find the best three-point shooters.

Mohan discussed how against the grain SGA was in terms of his play this postseason. He also wrote how the Canadian superstar effectively removed the three-point shot from his arsenal throughout the season:

The Canadian star similarly disregarded the deep shot during the regular season, averaging 30.1 points while making only 1.3 threes from 3.6 attempts per game. In comparison, the likes of Luka Doncic (10.6 attempts), Donovan Mitchell (9.0 attempts) and Jayson Tatum (8.2 attempts) let it fly a lot more.

If you also look at the amount of midrange shots NBA players took throughout the 2023-24 season, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took the fifth-most attempts with 336. He was also among the most efficient among the high-volume midrange merchants with 49.4% efficiency in that area.

With the NBA continuing to stick to the three-point meta, the midrange has become less viable due to the spacing constraints it causes. A superstar of SGA’s age should have grown up on the three-point revolution becoming increasingly relevant.

However, he successfully incorporated a part of the game long thought to be gone to the delight of older basketball fans. Whether he wins a Larry O’Brien trophy with such a play style remains to be seen.