It is no secret that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is having another huge season, but will his high usage rate prove to be a concern late in the year? The OKC Thunder star's 32.7 percent usage rate is the highest mark on the roster by a significant margin. Ajay Mitchell's 24.0 percent usage rate is second on the team.
Gilgeous-Alexander's usage rate is fifth in the NBA -- trailing only Luka Doncic (36.6), Jaylen Brown (35.4), Giannis Antetokounmpo (35.4), and Joel Embiid (34.5). Embiid, however, has only played in six total games while players such as Doncic and Brown have seen increased minutes due to other stars on their rosters (LeBron James and Jayson Tatum, respectively) missing time with injuries.
For SGA, the Thunder simply rely on him extremely often. However, will he be able to hold up all season long with such a high usage rate?
Looking ahead as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continues to lead Thunder
Gilgeous-Alexander finished the 2024-25 NBA season with a 33.6 percent usage rate across 76 games played -- placing him fourth in the league in the statistic.
SGA's high usage obviously was not an issue last year, though, as the Thunder star led his team to an NBA Finals victory.
However, this intense workload could take its toll on Gilgeous-Alexander at some point.
He has been quite durable throughout his career, playing in at least 68 games over the past three years. Gilgeous-Alexander is also only 27 years old, so decline will not be a problem any time soon.
Another important note is the fact that Gilgeous-Alexander has only played in nine fourth quarters out of the Thunder's 20 total games this year. Oklahoma City has consistently cruised past opponents, so SGA has been able to rest fairly consistently in the final quarter of play.
Overall, SGA is averaging 32.9 points per game on 54.5 percent field goal and 42.3 percent three-point shooting. The reigning MVP is also recording per-game averages of 6.7 assists, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.6 steals.
Fortunately, his high usage rate clearly has not been a problem so far.
Gilgeous-Alexander will likely continue to play at an elite level as he moves forward. Still, the Thunder should closely monitor his usage rate.
Injuries are unfortunately quite a common issue in the NBA, and the last thing this dynasty-pushing Oklahoma City team needs is for their guiding light in Gilgeous-Alexander to miss time down the road.