Every day it seems the OKC Thunder are either setting or on the verge of claiming a new historic feat.
Be it in the form of a team-wide achievement or an individual player accolade, Oklahoma City has been rather active within the game's record books throughout the 2024-25 campaign.
Now, following Sunday night's redemption win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander actually managed to extend an ongoing NBA record of scoring at least 20 points in a game while seeing under 40 minutes of action.
According to the sports data outlet Stats Perform, the previous record was 30 consecutive games. After the Thunder guard registered 37 points in 38 minutes played against the T-Wolves, he's now pushed the all-time streak to a previously unfathomably long 51 straight games.
Thunder star extends scoring streak even further after win over Wolves
As of this writing, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the league's leading scorer on the season with an average of 32.3 points per night. Not since their October 30 win over the San Antonio Spurs has the 26-year-old logged fewer than 20 in a game this year with 18.
In fact, this contest was the only time throughout his 55 games played in 2024-25 where he failed to score at least 20.
What's exciting and, frankly, important to take away from this streak is that it completely nullifies the ludicrous notion some such as former NBA veteran Nick Young have made claiming that the Thunder ride on their centerpiece, even during blowouts, simply to inflate his scoring numbers.
Already, such claims have been debunked based on the sheer fact that Gilgeous-Alexander has literally found himself sitting out the entirety of a fourth quarter on double-digit occasions this year and, out of those who rank within the top 10 in scoring as of February 24, the point guard ranks ninth in minutes per game.
This latest 51-game achievement only strengthens the case that SGA doesn't need an obscene amount of minutes to produce at the tremendous levels he has been all year long.
Considering he's the leader of this top-seeded Oklahoma City squad (46-10) and is posting prime Michael Jordan-esque averages of 32.3 points, 6.1 assists, 5.1 rebounds, 1.9 steals, and 1.1 blocks on 52.2 percent shooting from the floor and 36.0 percent shooting from distance, it should come as no surprise that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the odds-on favorite to take home MVP this season.
This latest achievement only makes his case more clear.