In his second season with the OKC Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was one of the best young guards in the league. If he hadn’t gotten injured thirty-five games into his career year, he might’ve won the Most Improved Player award.
Shai made major strides on the offensive end as the primary scorer and ball-handler for the Thunder, becoming one of the most proficient and high-volume pick and roll playmakers and an excellent scorer at all three levels.
Among players with three or more pull-up 3-point attempts a game, Shai Gilgeous Alexander ranked second in efficiency, shooting 40.9 percent on pull-up triples.
OKC Thunder cornerstone Gilgeous-Alexander 2021-22 stat prediction
SGA also ranked sixth in pull-up field goal percentage among players with more than six pull-up attempts with 53.5 percent efficiency. Video footage demonstrates the ease of his shot in this area.
Among players with eight or more pick and roll possessions per game as the ball handler, Gilgeous -Alexander ranked first in points per possession with 1.12 PPP.
He also ranked fourth in points generated per game as the PNR Ball Handler with 11 only behind Trae Young, Luka Doncic, and Dame Lillard.
At twenty-three years old, Shai is likely to make even more strides on both ends of the floor which will further be helped by an improving young cast around him. On the other hand, the critics question whether the Ontario-born star can maintain his gaudy and efficient per game stats and splits over larger sample size.
He’ll get that opportunity this season and hopefully remain healthy. With that, Intentions dives into predicting Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s stats for the 2021-22 campaign.