1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
It may sound like a cliché, and in many ways it is, but this Thunder team will only go as far as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will take them.
While they are far from a perfectly constructed roster, as they have several weaknesses attached to them such as lacking experience and frontcourt physicality, the superstar's impact on the entire roster makes such weaknesses seem minute.
Even his own teammates understand just how vital he is to the club's success, as Josh Giddey recently relayed the message that regardless of if "he had two points or 50 points" in a game, if the Thunder need a bucket "he's getting the ball."
SGA 🥶 pic.twitter.com/ePpLXHvhPY
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) April 1, 2024
This sentiment was most recently put on full display on Easter Sunday when the somewhat struggling SGA (held to just 43.8 percent shooting and 25.0 percent shooting from deep) answered the call in the closing seconds of regulation to lift his team over a scrappy Knicks team while on the road.
Posting numbers astonishingly similar to those of NBA legend Michael Jordan, through 71 games played the 25-year-old is putting up stellar averages of 30.3 points, 6.3 assists, 5.5 rebounds, 2.3 steals, and just shy of a block on 53.9 percent shooting from the floor and 36.5 percent shooting from deep.
From his 14.1 win shares to his 9.0 box plus-minus rating on the year, Gilgeous-Alexander is integral to this Thunder team. Simply put, if he excels so too shall they.