OKC Thunder: ESPN ranks SGA as 10th best player ‘under 25’

Despite being in a complete rebuilding phase, the OKC Thunder are seemingly ahead of the game in comparison to past examples, as they already have a franchise player in place in combo guard, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Now in his third season in the league, the Kentucky product is posting impressive per-game averages of 23.7 points, 5.9 assists, and 4.7 rebounds on 51 percent shooting from the floor and 42 percent shooting from deep.

Without SGA in the rotation this season, the Thunder find themselves sporting an underwhelming record of 4-11, with six of said losses coming within the past seven games where the guard has been sidelined as he recovers from plantar fasciitis in his right foot.

An All-Star snub in 2021, Gilgeous-Alexander has proven to be one of the best players in the entire league, with an early-season rankings list placing him 38th overall.

Now, four months into the year, fans and media alike are still high on the talents in which the Toronto-native possesses, especially amongst those within his age range.

In fact, in a recent list penned by ESPN ranking the NBA’s top 25 players under the age of 25 (subscription required), Oklahoma City’s young stud found himself placed 10th overall.

OKC Thunder guard, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, ranked 10th best player under 25

The top-10 of said list can currently be found circulating all over the Twitterverse and various other social media platforms.

While there are certainly arguments that can be made about the list as a whole — right off the top of our heads, one pertains to LaMelo Ball’s third-overall ranking — to see the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the same breathe as some of these legitimate stars and franchise cornerstones should, at the very least, make OKC Thunder fans feel happy about the team’s current situation.