OKC Thunder: B/R pinpoints team’s “bright spot” thus far into season

The OKC Thunder have had themselves a surprisingly successful season so far through the first 21 games of action.

Boasting a record of 9-12, Oklahoma City is a mere three games behind in the win column from the eighth-seeded Portland Trail Blazers and, with their impressive play, fans of the franchise have swayed their desire of a tank season for one that sees competitive spirit throughout.

The biggest influence behind the team’s play thus far has been the stellar performance from third-year stud, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

In 33.3 minutes per game, the 22-year-old is posting impressive averages of 21.8 points, 6.3 assists, 5.3 rebounds, and just shy of a steal per game on 51 percent shooting from the field and 38 percent shooting from deep.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been the main bright spot for the OKC Thunder

His progressions as a player have been a joy to watch for OKC Thunder fans and was even listed as the team’s one “brightspot” on Bleacher Report’s latest piece.

Citing OKC’s “ahead of schedule” rebuild and the guard’s production, writer Dan Favale views SGA as shinning brighter than all other aspects from the Thunder’s current campaign:

"Sufficiently piloting an offense was his next frontier entering this season, and he’s conquering it. He’s averaging 21.3 points and 6.3 assists while burying 57.3 percent of his twos and 37.5 percent of his threes—all career highs.The gravity of this marriage between volume and efficiency cannot be overstated. Gilgeous-Alexander is thriving amid an appreciably harder role.More than 83 percent of his made buckets are going unassisted, including 63.6 percent of his three-point makes—demonstrative increases over last year’s marks of 70.9 and 46.0, respectively. His assists totals are not just the byproduct of the time he spends on-ball. He’s using his trademark changes of pace to keep defenses on tilt and test out more difficult, less obvious passes.Gilgeous-Alexander’s turnover rate has spiked amid this experimentation, but that’s the cost of functional expansion. And Oklahoma City is happy to pay it. The team’s offensive rating improves by 12.6 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor.Finding a primary cornerstone around which to anchor a franchise’s future is the hardest part of any rebuild. The Thunder have found theirs."

With his play, Gilgeous-Alexander managed to garner the ninth most All-Star votes in the Western Conference for backcourt players.

With him in tow, the team’s 2020-21 prospects seem rather bright, while their future shines even brighter.