The OKC Thunder have too much depth on their roster to be this reliant on superstar, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
From featuring an All-NBA sidekick in Jalen Williams and a true budding star in Chet Holmgren by his side, to having spark plug talents in Cason Wallace, Ajay Mitchell, and Isaiah Joe waiting in the reserves and ready to burst onto the scene at a moment's notice, SGA's supporting cast is far from void of talent.
Yet, despite Oklahoma City's obscene amount of firepower, they still find themselves relying on the cornerstone guard to carry them at an unreasonable rate. So much so, in fact, that it's gotten to the point where if Gilgeous-Alexander isn't playing lights-out basketball, the Thunder are having trouble pulling out wins.
Sunday's loss to the Phoenix Suns was merely another example of this.
Thunder don't have to overly rely on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
The Thunder haven't endured many losses this year, though during such instances, Gilgeous-Alexander has found himself producing at rather inefficient rates.
In these six lackluster contests, the reigning MVP has found himself struggling mightily in virtually every area of play. Though he may still be averaging an impressive 29.8 points, he's doing so while boasting a true shooting percentage of just 56.4.
Compared to the 32.3 points and 70.0 percent clip he's sporting in wins, this is clearly a stark drop-off.
Against Phoenix, Shai was held to a putrid 8-for-22 shooting, and, with him cashing in on less than 45.0 percent of his shots this season, they have gone winless.
Meanwhile, in this game against Phoenix, both Williams and Holmgren were finding tremendous success on the offensive end despite taking only two more combined shots than SGA, totaling 41 points on 70.8 percent shooting from the floor and 42.9 percent from deep.
Both even managed to keep the game within striking distance during the closing minute of action, with J-Dub actually hitting the tying jumper right before Devin Booker's clutch game-winning triple, while Gilgeous-Alexander went an abysmal 0-for-4 in the final four minutes.
It takes an entire team effort to pull out wins, yet, for some reason, even after using their elite depth to claim their first Larry O'Brien Trophy a season ago, the Thunder still find themselves resorting to this isolation-heavy approach with Shai as the hero-ball option.
Needless to say, this game plan has obviously worked out more often than not this year -- they're the top seed in the entire league with a record of 30-6 and are the odds-on favorites to win the 2026 NBA Championship.
However, to improve their chances of becoming the first repeat champ in nearly a decade, the Thunder must learn how to share the wealth and get their secondary and tertiary players more involved in their offensive scheme, especially when Gilgeous-Alexander is having an off night.