OKC Thunder: SI Top 100 – SGA 30th rank is questionably low

The next installment of Sports Illustrated‘s annual Top 100 list was released today citing the players who rank 30th to 11th. The top 10 will come out tomorrow.  OKC Thunder captain Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the first player from the club to make the list coming in with the 30th spot.

Intentions previously noted SI.coms Biggest Snubs and the players who ranked between 100 and 31. As noted no existing OKC players made these lists although former stars were in the mix. For those wishing to view the list click here for 100-51, here for 50 to 31, and here for snubs.

While the annual list draws fan interest it also serves as a right of passage of sorts for the players. And, in some cases serves as motivational fuel for the coming season.

OKC Thunder, Gilgeous-Alexander gains motivation via SI.com 30th rank

The list is pulled together based on the input of NBA writers which this season include Jeremy Woo, Chris Herring, Michael Pina, and Rohan Nadkarni. Rookies aren’t considered and injuries (whether players who’ll miss part of this season or are returning from absences) play a factor in the final equation.

That Shai Gilgeous-Alexander lands in this 30th to 11th seeding portion of the list isn’t surprising. But at least from Intentions perspective (and yes we’re biased), there is a bit of confusion on how certain individuals rank in front of him.

The following is the excerpt, explaining SGA’s 30th rank:

"30. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder(Previous rank: 63)Gilgeous-Alexander played in only 35 games in 2021 but shined bright enough to be No. 30 on this list. His offensive profile would make an analytics nerd blush: Over 50% from the field, over 40% from three, and over six free-throw attempts a game. Only entering his fourth season, if SGA builds on his 2021 numbers the Thunder should seriously consider speeding up their rebuild. — RN"

First, the good news — SGA moves up from 63 on the list last season to 30th this year. Not to look a gift horse in the mouth but is that high enough? In fairness, the fact he played in only 35 games is cited as part of the reason behind the placement.

With the OKC Thunder being a bottom-tier club that is rebuilding and tanking also takes a toll. The perfect example of this would be the placement of the Pistons (and former OKC Thunder forward) Jerami Grant who ranked 55th.

While two Raptors also suffered by the team’s poor 2020-21 campaign. Fred VanVleet moved up from 57th to 46th (an already low placement) but Pascal Siakam got nailed dropping from 30th to 44th. Siakam averaged 21.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.1 steals and also lost 20 pounds due to the COVID breakout on the team.

In comparison, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 23.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and
0.8 steals. The big difference for SGA, despite his fewer games (35 to 60) was his efficiencies. I’m not suggesting Siakam should be ahead of Shai – rather that both should be higher than they are.

The group placing in the 11th to 19th slots makes sense for the most part although we can quibble over their specific placements… Damian Lillard (11), Paul George (12), Jayson Tatum (13), Jimmy Butler (14), Bradley Beal (15), Devin Booker (16), Trae Young (17), Chris Paul (18), and Kyrie Irving (19)

However, the group ranking in the 29th to 20th slots offers a few head scratches. Not that they are on the list but ahead of SGA. That list is as follows:

• 29: Zach LaVine
• 28: Jrue Holiday
• 27: Jaylen Brown
• 26: Khris Middleton
• 25: Ja Morant
• 24: Donovan Mitchell
• 23: Karl-Anthony Towns
• 22: Bam Adebayo
• 21: Rudy Gobert
• 20: Zion Williamson

Aside from the overall production of the players, there are a few questions to consider. For example, do they play on a team surrounded by other top-level stars?  In other words, if you swapped the player in question with Gilgeous-Alexander to each other’s teams would they still rank ahead of SGA?’

The other exercise is to put on your GM hat and ask which of the two players you’d select if you were building a team. Would you pick Jaylen Brown, Khris Middleton, or Bam Adebayo ahead of Shai? Granted none of that trio is an apple for apple exchange, but still, you catch the drift.

Returning to the previous question, insert SGA beside the stars on that trio of player’s teams. So, the Celtics Tatum/Al Horford, the Bucks Antetokounmpo/Holiday, or the Heat Jimmy Butler/Kyle Lowry. Does SGA rank significantly improve under these circumstances?

When it comes to these lists it’s always a case of semantics and there will always be debates to be considered.

For this season, SGA can happily take the 30th seed and use it to help motivate his performances. The rest of us can entertain ourselves by arguing why he should be higher up the list or why Luguentz Dort

failed to make the top 100 while other defensive specialists like Draymond Green and Rudy Gobert did.