Tyronn Lue drops 2-word descriptor of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander after loss to Thunder

Despite being severely undermanned in the frontcourt without the likes of Isaiah Hartenstein, Jaylin Williams, and, now for the next eight-to-ten weeks, Chet Holmgren, the OKC Thunder still managed to find a way to pull out win number nine against the LA Clippers on Monday night.

Though pulling out a victory took a whole team effort, especially on the defensive end while attempting to make up for their 7-foot-1-sized hole down at the pivot, leading the charge for Oklahoma City was franchise centerpiece Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had his paws all over the place throughout his 39 minutes of action.

The reigning MVP runner-up was a two-way savant against Los Angeles and went on to stuff the stat sheet with an impressive all-around performance of 45 points (new career-high), 9 assists, 3 rebounds, 5 steals, and 2 blocks while shooting 61.9 percent from the floor and 50.0 percent from distance.

Without their All-Star point guard, the Thunder would have been absolutely dead in the water, and while this sentiment may be the case on most nights, against the Clippers it was painfully more than apparent, for, even with his heroics, Mark Daigneault's squad still only managed to squeak by with a 134-128 edge.

Prior to Monday's contest, LA coach Tyronn Lue told reporters how impressed he has been with SGA's ascension in 2024-25, noting that he's starting to prove himself worthy of being in the conversation of taking on the "superstar" moniker what with his ability to not force things and, ultimately, let the game come to him.

Following his club's loss, the ninth-year headman doubled down on these statements, summing up the Thunder guard in two words: "Extreme talent."

Tyronn Lue praises Shai Gilgeous-Alexander after loss to Thunder

"I thought he trusted his teammates, I thought he made all the right plays, and when it was time to take over the game when it got close he did that down the stretch, which he does so well and he's been doing for the last few years... He's playing the game the right way. If you double-team him he's going to make the right pass, if you don't he's skilled enough to get his own shot off anytime," Lue said.

As Lue noted, Gilgeous-Alexander has been putting up similar types of production for the better part of the last three years, and, as a result, has earned two straight All-Star and All-NBA nods while currently en route to his third for each.

Now in year seven, it appears he's begining to take his game to a whole new level.

Averaging 27.8 points, 6.5 assists, 5.5 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and 1.1 blocks on 50.0 percent shooting from the floor, it's evident that the 26-year-old's counting stats are only continuing to stay in elite territory.

However, the eye test shows that he's gone on to add even more to his already deep bag of tricks, especially when it comes to his scoring game where he's become far more willing to step into pull-ups from the perimeter -- something he worked on throughout the offseason.

Though this shift and uptick in attempts has affected his on-paper efficiency (shooting just 29.5 percent from deep compared to 35.3 percent from last year), against Los Angeles it seemed to make all the difference in the game's ultimate outcome.

Already known as a handful for opposing teams to deal with, Tyronn Lue and his Clippers saw first-hand just how much of a difference-maker Shai Gilgeous-Alexander can be.