The OKC Thunder took care of business during their 2024-25 season opener, downing the Denver Nuggets on the road in a borderline blowout fashion.
As a collective, Oklahoma City reminded the masses why they were the top seeds out in the Western conference last year. Front and center, they displayed their elite two-way skills, which saw them coast beyond the century mark by dropping 102 points while simultaneously holding Nikola Jokic and company to 87 points scored on a lackluster 35.4 percent shooting from the field.
However, while there were many takeaways that could be had from Thursday's game one showing, perhaps the most noteworthy and, frankly, important of all is the continued growth of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's scoring repertoire.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander proved his preseason shooting was for real
Throughout this year's preseason, all eyes were drawn toward SGA's seemingly improved shooting portfolio, particularly when it came to his willingness to hoist pull-ups from the long two-point range and even beyond the arc.
In three games played, the 26-year-old found himself cashing in on a highly efficient 63.6 percent of his shots from distance which, compared to his career regular-season average of just 34.9 percent, is a major step in the right direction.
This shift in confidence with his shot caught the attention of fans, pundits, and even his own teammates, as budding stud running mate, Chet Holmgren dished on the All-Star's improvements as a shooter, emphatically saying:
"He didn't shoot shots like that pretty much at all last year and now he'll shoot it 10 times in a row in a practice and make nine of them."
To some, this may have simply been due to the sub-100 percent efforts that opposing defenses provide during preseason play. However, during Thursday's opening bout against the Nuggets, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander showed that his new-found affinity for letting them fly from an extended range was more than just a mere phase.
In 36 minutes played during the Thunder season opener, the point guard paced all players in shot attempts at 24, with a large portion of them coming in pull-up fashion and from the mid-to-long range on the hardwood.
Though he may have only cashed in on 33.3 percent of his long balls, it was encouraging to see him shoot off six total attempts from 3-point land, as this addition to his game will only prove to further keep defenders on their toes.
Already known around the league as having one of, if not the deepest bag of tricks among active players, the reigning MVP runner-up is well known as being a daunting assignment for any opponent to square off against.
However, consensus has always been that, if he were to add a consistent pull-up to his game he could be virtually unstoppable, and, on opening night, he flashes that this tool is right on the cusp of peaking through.