Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads Thunder rebuild after stars exodus

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexanderseemed like a nice pickup for Oklahoma City Thunder, a secondarypiece in the trade that sent Paul George to the Los AngelesClippers four years ago.

Gilgeous-Alexander has turned out to be more than anafterthought — much more.

He has blossomed into an All-Star, the unquestioned leader ofthe Thunder’s rebuilding efforts and the centerpiece of a Canadiannational team that could be a medal contender at the Paris Gamesnext summer. He ranks fourth in the league in scoring with 31.5points per game — behind Joel Embiid, Luka Doncic and DamianLillard and just ahead of two-time league MVP GiannisAntetokounmpo.

He doesn’t grab as many national headlines as the other topscorers — in part because the Thunder (38-42) haven’t beencompetitive the past two years. Now Oklahoma City is battling for aspot in the Play-In Tournament with Doncic and the Dallas Mavericksheading into their game Thursday night at Utah.

“It’s been fun,” said Gilgeous-Alexander, 24, who was selected11th overall by the Clippers in the 2018 draft after he spent ayear at Kentucky. “My favorite part is the team success. There isno better feeling than winning games, and that’s all I wanted tofocus on coming into the season. And with focusing on that, theindividual success just followed.”

Oklahoma City has been reeling from the long-term effects oflosing Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Pauland George, among others, to trades and free agency. A franchisethat reached the Western Conference finals four times and the NBAFinals once the previous decade hasn’t made the playoffs since2020.

The 6-foot-6 Gilgeous-Alexander is giving Thunder fans hope andmanagement reasons to build around him.

While his rise has been mostly off the radar, it’s nonethelessimpressive. Two seasons ago, he scored 23.7 points per game andlast season, his average increased to 24.5. He missed the finalmonth of last season with a sore right ankle, but recovered anddominated for Canada’s national team in the summer.

He carried that international momentum into this season and willjoin Durant and Westbrook as the only Thunder players to average atleast 30 points for an entire season. Durant and Westbrook won MVPand the scoring title in their highest-scoring seasons for OklahomaCity — Durant averaged 32.0 points in 2013-14 and Westbrookproduced 31.6 per game in 2016-17.

Gilgeous-Alexander might have to settle for the Most ImprovedPlayer award, which would be a fitting honor given his approach.Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said when a player with his talentand work ethic locks in, it naturally leads to improvement.

“When he falls short, he looks in the mirror first,” Daigneaultsaid. “That drives his next step. And then he puts the work in andhe repeats that process, and he’s always repeated that process aslong as he’s been here and as long as we’ve known him.”

Canada men’s basketball general manager Rowan Barrett isn’tsurprised that Gilgeous-Alexander has made such a dramatic leapafter watching him work last summer.

“Before practice, after practice, like, constantly in the gym,in the gym, in the gym,” Barrett said. “And he’s clearly made a lotof sacrifices in his personal life to live that way. And I thinkthe world right now, many years on, is getting to kind of enjoywatching him based on all the work that he’s put in. He wants to begreat, and he’s completely committed to it.”

Another reason Gilgeous-Alexander’s exploits go mostly unnoticedis the lack of highlight reels. His game doesn’t includespectacular dunks or a lot of 3-pointers, though he makes 35% ofhis attempts from beyond the arc. He’s among the league’s leadersin free throws made and attempted and free-throw percentage.

Those stats make his coaches happy but don’t make for viralsocial media moments. Still, he shoots 51% from the field. Fanshave showered him with occasional chants of “M-V-P! M-V-P! when heshoots free throws during home games at the reinvigorated PaycomCenter.

NBA coaches don’t need highlights to know how well he isplaying. Golden State coach Steve Kerr was impressed afterGilgeous-Alexander scored 21 of his 31 points in the second half ina loss to the Warriors in January.

“He just gets any shot he wants in the mid-range,” Kerr said.“He’s so good with the ball. He’s so strong, you can’t speed himup. He just gets to his spots and calmly rises up and shoots thatlittle 12-footer, 10-footer, 14-footer.”

He frustrated Phoenix coach Monty Williams with one of his mostimpressive performances: scoring 40 points in a victory over theSuns on March 19 without attempting a 3-pointer.

Canada national team coach Nick Nurse, who also coaches theToronto Raptors, said Gilgeous-Alexander excels at setting up histeammates. He was a strong facilitator for Canada last summer,while averaging 5.4 assists for Oklahoma City this season.

“When you need offense, he creates it for himself,” Nurse said.“Tons of drive, and guys just standing there with their hands out,(Shai) hitting them right on the money for threes. I think itimproved a lot of our other players because of his drawing so muchdefense.”

With Gilgeous-Alexander’s rising stock, the future looks brightfor the Thunder — regardless of what happens this postseason. Itlooks good for Canada’s program, too.

“He’s supportive of the other guys and wants to see the otherguys do well as well,” said Barrett, the Canada basketball GM.“It’s not just all about him somehow. As great as he is, there’s ahumility there.”

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AP freelancer Ian Harrison in Toronto contributed to thisreport.