OKC Thunder: 3 stars SGA should rank ahead of on NBA top 30+ list

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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the OKC Thunder shoots as Kevin Durant #7 of the Brooklyn Nets defend. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /

OKC Thunder captain SGA stat comparison in key categories:

Diving deeper into core categories offers additional reasons for the OKC Thunder point guard to be included among the top 30 or at worst top 40.

First, let’s look at the core three stat categories of points, assists, and rebounds. Notably, I entered filters into the rebounding category of 20 points and five assists to compare apples to apples.

Points: SGA is seeded 25th in the league with 19 top 30 players and two players in the 31-40 seeding ranking ahead of him.

Assists: SGA ranks 28th with 15 players from the top 30 and four in the 31-40 range ranking ahead of him.

Rebounds: With the filters in place SGA ranks 17th with 13 top 30 players ranked ahead plus Sabonis, Leonard, and one player not in the top 40.

Next, Intentions looked at the efficiency of the three shooting distances.

Field Goals Percent: 11 players shot over 50 percent (with a minimum of 15 attempts). SGA ranked ninth in this group. Of the eight players ahead six are on the top 30 list while Kawhi and Christian Wood were the other two.

Perimeter: Maintaining the caveat of a minimum of 15 field-goal attempts per game the Thunder superstar ranks fourth on the list (41.8%) with only Durant, Curry, and LaVine ranking ahead of him.

Charity Stripe: Keeping the filters to 30 games and 10 field goal attempts minimum SGA ranks 37th with 15 players ahead of him that also don’t make the top 30 list and four who land in the injury (Leonard, Murray) or honorable mention tier (DeRozan, LaVine). Changing the filter

Combo: average 20+ points, 4.5+ rebounds, 5+ assists: 16 players reach this benchmark with SGA ranking 12th in the group. The 11 players ranked ahead include eight from the top 30 list, Leonard, Malcolm Brogdon, and Caris LeVert.

Above combo plus efficiencies (of 50, 40, and 80 percent from the field, perimeter, and charity stripe): Kyrie Irving, KD, and SGA are the trio that makes this unique club, with Zach LaVine joining if we let the 4.9 assists slide.

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