The OKC Thunder open up the New Year as the hottest team in the entire NBA.
Attached to a top-seeded record of 27-5 and a league-leading 12-game winning streak, Oklahoma City finds itself firing on all cylinders while making its way through this 2024-25 campaign, and spearheading the charge for this scorched earth squad is lead guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
A legitimate superstar on the upswing at the ripe age of 26, SGA is amid yet another tremendous season and has especially kicked up his level of play during this winning stretch as he's dropped three 40-plus point games and is boasting averages of 33.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.5 steals, and 1.3 blocks while shooting 56.6 percent from the floor and 36.0 percent from deep.
His top-billed production has not only received high praise from the Thunder organization and its devoted fanbase but, also, from rival players strewn across the league. Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards recently went as far as to say "he's playing out his mind right now" and that, to him, he's "The MVP of the NBA" following Tuesday's New Year's Eve faceoff.
However, quite possibly the most noteworthy quote made during his post-game media availability was when the Minnesota cornerstone referred to Gilgeous-Alexander as "unguardable," which, excitingly enough, was a sentiment further strengthened by the Thunder star during his own personal on-court interview after his 40-point showing versus the T-Wovles.
Thunder star assesses personal play with one of coldest takes of the year
"I get to the rim on anybody. I work so hard in the summer time, I prepare for those moments no matter who I play, best defense in the league worst defense in the league. This is the best league in the world and I know that. That's why I work so hard," Gilgeous-Alexander said.
Both of these statements from Edwards and Gilgeous-Alexander come at a time when the Thunder star finds his standing in the current 2025 NBA MVP leaderboard on the rise, as he recently skyrocketed to having the best odds of doing so following the latest update, surpassing former favorite and reigning winner of the award, Nikola Jokic.
Though perhaps from a technical standpoint, SGA isn't necessarily "unguardable" as he's been somewhat up-and-down with his jumper (specifically from distance) thus far into the season, for years now the guard has been viewed as having one of the deepest bags of tricks the game has to offer and is once again displaying this skillset in year seven.
In 32 games played, Gilgeous-Alexander is dropping sensational all-around averages of 31.3 points, 6.0 assists, 5.5 rebounds, 2.0 steals, and 1.2 blocks while shooting on 52.8 percent from the field and 35.0 percent from deep.
To put this stat line into perspective, only Michael Jordan has managed to post at least 31.0 points, 6.0 assists, and 2.0 steals while shooting 50 percent or better from the floor for an entire season.
While there are still several more months remaining on the regular season docket and, as a result, much could theoretically change, assuming he stays on this course and becomes the second player to accomplish this elite statistical feat, being grouped into a club with arguably the game's most "unguardable" player of all time would only add to the case that both Anthony Edwards and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander have recently made.