OKC Thunder: Athletic ranks SGA top 30 – 3 tweaks will move him up a tier

Recently, writer Seth Partnow of the paid-for subscription The Athletic ranked the best 125 players in the NBA into five tiers. No OKC Thunder player cracked that list except for Shai Gilgeous Alexander.

Diving deeper into the third tier rankings the players listed in the 20 through 36 spots were as follows:

Tier 3A:

• Devin Booker
• Jrue Holiday
• Trae Young
• Zion Williamson

Tier 3B:

• Bradley Beal
• Donovan Mitchell
• Ja Morant
• Jamal Murray
• Karl-Anthony Towns
• Mike Conley
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Tier 3C:

• Ben Simmons
• Draymond Green
• Jaylen Brown
• Pascal Siakam
• Russell Westbrook
• Zach Lavine

OKC Thunder guard Gilgeous-Alexander ranks top 30 – So what’s next?

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the only player on the list who is effectively on a tanking team. This speaks volumes about how effective he is as a player, and the recognition he is gradually gaining from the league.

In fact, Partnow mentioned that prior to SGA’s injury last season he was playing almost too well for a tanking team.  What Shai can do in terms of shot creation should already be described as elite, and anyone who watched OKC last year can agree that what SGA does with the ball is highly valuable for every team in the league.

If you assess SGA against the rest of tier 3B’s guards, it confirms what a lot of OKC fans have been saying for the past 18 months. Our franchise player is ready to be a part of the conversations, he is among the elite. If not elite, he is certainly in the conversation for ‘Next Up’.  To that end, he is the Vegas favorite to win Most Improved Player this coming season along with Zion Williamson.

So, what is next for Shai? What is stopping him from being in tier 3A with Devin Booker, Jrue Holiday, and Trae Young? Or even moving into tier 2C with Chris Paul, Khris Middleton, Kyrie Irving, and Jayson Tatum? I believe we have a couple of answers for what’s needed for the Toronto native to move up a peg or two.

First and foremost, it’s the accolades. NBA discourse always runs off the accolades, the recognition. SGA is one of the only players here along with Lavine and Zion to not make the playoffs this season. And the only player along with Jamal Murray to not have an All-Star appearance.

That’s a pretty unique position for the OKC Thunder cornerstone to be in, compared to the competition. Unfortunately for him, it feels unlikely that OKC will be making the playoffs any time soon, and the way that All-Star selection values wins and losses, he could be another All-Star snub again.

Outside of a MIP award, or an outside shot at the All-Star selection, SGA may need to round out his game more to move up the ranks. While there is no doubt that he is among the best at creating shots for himself, he is still learning how to unlock the players around him.

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This season saw his highest usage rate, and with that, he averaged almost six assists per game. Depending on how the guard rotation shakes out with the addition of Josh Giddey and the increased game time for Theo Maledon, Shai could create more looks for teammates in an offense that desperately needs more ball movement.

A third and final area of improvement to note is Gilgeous-Alexander’s defense. According to FiveThirtyEight’s RAPTOR model for defense, Shai is a slight negative on the defensive end. While Lu Dort is one of the best defensive wings in the game. Shai has the speed, attitude, and 6’ 11” wingspan to become at worst, an average defender.

With a little more offensive firepower on the roster, SGA could spend more time focusing on the defensive end to fully round out his game to show he is one of the more ‘complete’ players in the game today.

Some of these things are out of Gilgeous-Alexander’s control when you look a little closer, such as an All-star appearance. The OKC Thunder isn’t trying to win like everyone else on this list which puts him at a disadvantage for these kinds of rankings. However, if SGA evolves his game a step further, his ascension to the NBA’s elite will still be undeniable, in a similar fashion to how Karl-Anthony Towns always lands high on these lists.