Even with two consecutive NBA MVP awards, four-straight 30-plus point per game seasons, and an NBA Championship under his belt, there's still a case to be made that OKC Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander doesn't get the respect he deserves for his on-court excellence.
A recently surfaced statistical finding only strengthened such a belief.
According to the X page Stat Defender, SGA has totaled the second-most one-plus steal and one-plus block games over the last five seasons with 182. The only player ahead of him is 2023 Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. (194).
Frankly, the Thunder star is one of the only players on this list who has yet to so much as sniff an All-Defensive nod in his career, yet his productivity in these two departments comes in ahead of defensive savants like Scottie Barnes, Derrick White, and even 2025 DPOY Evan Mobley.
This is only the latest example of Shai's production on the less glamorous side of the ball being seen flying well under the radar, as previous findings, such as his elite 105.2 defensive rating and second-best defensive win shares from this past campaign, were already enough to get the ball rolling with this surprisingly accurate claim of the mega star still being somewhat underrated.
Thunder star continuing to hone his craft on the hardwood this summer
As alluded to, Gilgeous-Alexander is already widely regarded as one of the top talents the game currently has to offer.
From his four straight All-NBA First Team selections to his truly historic bucket-getting abilities, which recently led him to post the highest field-goal percentage by a guard averaging over 30 points per game, many might consider Shai to be a finished product.
However, the Thunder star seemingly disagrees with this kind of notion, and his actions this summer clearly prove it.
While suiting up for Team Canada in the FIBA Basketball World Cup qualifying rounds, Shai has been actively working on his craft as an off-ball contributor, which, according to Canada coach Gordie Herbert, could make him even "tougher to guard" moving forward.
Already, he's established himself as a highly productive off-ball scoring talent in the association, finishing the 2025-26 season with an elite catch-and-shoot effective field goal percentage of 60.8.
Of course, like all the great ones that came before him, it seems he's not satisfied with his level of play just yet and believes there's still more room for growth.
This kind of drive by SGA should send shivers down the spines of opposing ball clubs.
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