Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is putting together a season that’s not just impressive-it’s historic. With his latest performance in a 119-103 win over Memphis, the Oklahoma City Thunder star extended his streak of 20-point games to 100 straight.
That’s not a typo. One hundred consecutive games with at least 20 points.
In today’s NBA, where defenses are more versatile and schemes more complex than ever, that kind of consistency is rare air.
What makes SGA so tough to guard isn’t just his scoring ability-it’s how he gets those points. He’s efficient, he’s deceptive, and he’s mastered the art of drawing contact.
It’s not just about quickness or athleticism (though he has plenty of both); it’s about angles, timing, and understanding how defenders react. He uses subtle hesitations, shoulder fakes, and body positioning to get defenders leaning just enough to draw a whistle.
And he’s doing it at an elite level.
This season, Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 9.5 free-throw attempts per game-third-most in the league behind Luka Dončić and Deni Avdija. That’s a huge part of his scoring engine. When you give a player like SGA nearly double-digit trips to the line every night, you're not just giving him free points-you’re putting pressure on your defense, risking foul trouble, and letting him control the tempo.
Even LeBron James has taken notice. On a recent episode of the Mind the Game podcast, the Lakers legend broke down what makes SGA so difficult to contain-and offered a bit of insight into how teams might try to slow him down.
“You’ve got to keep him off the free-throw line. Which is hard,” LeBron said.
“He knows how to manipulate the game in a good way. He’s always looking for hands, arms, and elbows if you’re in his space.
That’s just our game right now. It’s how James Harden was when he was dominant in Houston.”
That comparison to peak James Harden isn’t just high praise-it’s a blueprint. Harden, at his best, was a master of drawing contact without forcing it.
He played the game like a chess match, baiting defenders into reaching or leaning, then punishing them for it. SGA is doing something very similar, but with his own twist.
He’s smoother, more methodical, and less reliant on the step-back three. Instead, he lives in the midrange, slithers into the paint, and forces defenders to make split-second decisions-most of which end with a whistle.
And here’s the kicker: even when teams know what’s coming, they still can’t stop it.
At 26-3, the Thunder are sitting atop the Western Conference, and SGA is the engine powering it all. He’s not just putting up numbers-he’s leading a young, hungry team with poise, control, and MVP-level impact.
The league has taken notice. Coaches are game-planning around him.
Defenders are studying film. And yet, night after night, he finds a way to carve them up.
Meanwhile, LeBron-who’s now played in an NBA-record 20 straight Christmas Day games-is reflecting on his own place in the game. He admitted this week that if it were up to him, he’d rather be home with his family on the holiday.
And who could blame him? Two decades of suiting up on December 25 is a grind, even for someone who’s made a career out of defying time.
But even with that wear and tear, LeBron still sees the honor in it. Growing up, he watched legends take the floor on Christmas, and now he’s become part of that tradition.
It’s a balancing act-between family and the game, between preference and professionalism. And like always, LeBron finds a way to walk that line with grace.
So as we head into the thick of the NBA season, two things are clear: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is becoming one of the league’s most unguardable players, and even the game’s elder statesmen are watching with respect. Whether it’s on Christmas Day or a random Tuesday in December, SGA is giving us something special-and the league better start figuring out how to deal with it.