Grading Thunder Players After Wednesday’s Win at Washington

They say basketball is a game of runs, and it was certainly true during the Thunder’s 121-120 victory over the Wizards on Wednesday night. The Thunder were down as many as 17 in the first quarter, but they used a 16-0 run to tie the game at 37 with nine minutes left in the second quarter. The Wizards punched back though, outscoring the Thunder by 13 points in the final nine minutes of the first half and taking a comfortable lead into halftime.

The second half was a different story. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s ascension to superstardom has been the story of the Thunder’s season through the first 15 games, and his talents were on full display on Wednesday evening. SGA carried the Thunder through the third quarter, scoring or assisting on 26 of OKC’s 35 third quarter points as the Thunder outscored the Wizards by 15. He rested until the 5:36 mark of the fourth quarter, but scored 11 points down the stretch on his way to a career-high 42 point game. He capped off the performance with a step-back three-pointer that gave the Thunder a one-point lead with 1.1 seconds left in the game.

At this point, the sky is the limit for SGA’s 2022-2023 season. His first All-Star appearance feels more likely after every game, and a spot on one of the three All-NBA teams isn’t out of the question either. As for the Thunder, the victory brings them to 7-8 as they near the end of the first month of the season. Currently they are tied with Minnesota for the tenth-best record in the West.

On the following slide we’ll dive into each Thunder starter’s individual performance.