Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has already stacked up enough hardware to fill a whole résumé, but there’s still another line on the board he can chase this season. Beyond the NBA championship, MVP, Finals MVP and scoring title, he’s now closing in on a record that belongs to another Kentucky standout: John Wall.
Wall’s mark for career blocks by a point guard sits at 439. Gilgeous-Alexander is already at 422, which leaves him 17 blocks shy of taking the lead. Given that he averaged nearly 0.8 blocks per game last season, the finish line is well within reach.
The pace is what really jumps off the page. Wall needed 647 games to get to 439 blocks.
Gilgeous-Alexander has piled up 422 in only 530 games. That kind of efficiency puts him in striking distance fast.
The rest of the leaderboard is made up of players who are now retired, which clears the path even more for Gilgeous-Alexander, who is just 28 years old, to turn this into a record that could stand for a long time. The current list reads:
John Wall - 439 blocks in 647 games
Jason Kidd - 425 blocks in 1315 games
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - 422 blocks in 530 games
Russell Westbrook - 418 blocks in 1301 games
Magic Johnson - 361 blocks in 874 games
Gilgeous-Alexander is usually celebrated for what he does with the ball in his hands. He did, after all, break Wilt Chamberlain’s streak of consecutive games with at least 20 points, another record that could sit untouched for decades.
But the block chase is a reminder that his game goes well beyond scoring. His defense has been elite, too, and he’s making a strong case as the most complete point guard the game has seen.
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