OKC Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is unequivocally one of the best, if not the best, scoring weapons the league currently has to offer.
Not only has he averaged 30.0 or more points over each of the last three seasons, even pacing all players in this particular category during last year's campaign with 32.7, but he's done so while shooting north of 50.0 percent from the floor along the way.
For any player, accomplishing such a feat is undeniably impressive. However, considering he has joined the great Michael Jordan as the only other guard to post such numbers over a three-year span, this production is truly historic.
Now, after earning his first league MVP and guiding the Thunder to their first NBA Championship as a result of this elite brand of play, the goal for Gilgeous-Alexander should be to try and find ways to continue advancing his game even further and, in turn, keep opposing teams and players on their toes while chasing a repeat title.
To Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes, one obvious way for him to level up would be to hone his craft as a facilitator and offensive creator for others.
Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander should focus on passing game
In a recent piece, the seasoned B/R writer noted that, even with the Michael Jordan Trophy already in his possession, SGA still "has room to get better," and specifically highlighted how he could look to "sharpen up his playmaking and passing."
For his career, the point guard finds himself dishing out 5.1 assists per game, and just bumped this number up to 6.4 in 2024-25.
While solid, as Hughes noted, there's certainly room for growth.
Frankly, with established and rising stars like Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren running alongside him, there's no doubt that these averages could easily ascend even higher if he were to take the time to focus a bit more on distribution and dime-dropping.
Whether it's getting Gilgeous-Alexander into more pick-and-roll sets as the primary handler (an area of play where he ranked in the 71.2 percentile) or in extra drive-and-dish actions (he ranked sixth last year in assists with this particular type of play), there are plenty of ways in which he can boost his numbers and overall efficiency in the passing game.
As the old saying goes, if you're not getting better, you're getting worse. While some may find it hard to believe that the Thunder star still has areas of his game that he can improve upon, as Hughes highlighted, there are, in fact, certain aspects SGA could still get better in.
Working on his frequency and overall number of assists is a great place to start.
The Thunder are already a proven title-winner with the way Gilgeous-Alexander leads the team. Adding elite distribution to his repertoire could only have a positive trickle down effect on the rest of the club and, in turn, make the idea of them becoming a dynasty all the more likely.