The Thunder have spent the opening weeks of the season bouncing from one extreme to the next, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been the one constant through it all.
Oklahoma City entered the year with title buzz, then watched half its core roster get hit by long-term injuries. Even so, the team is 6-2.
After back-to-back blowout losses to the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets, the Thunder steadied themselves with two straight wins over a Cavaliers team that’s in the mix. The biggest reason for the turnaround has been obvious: Gilgeous-Alexander has found another gear.
Through his first six games, he was averaging 26.0 points on 46.5 percent shooting. In the last two wins, he’s erupted for 40-plus points in both games. That kind of scoring burst looks a lot like the work Luka Doncic has made famous.
Doncic, now with the Los Angeles Lakers, leads the NBA in scoring, and that’s hardly unfamiliar territory. He won last season’s scoring title over Gilgeous-Alexander by leaning on 3.4 more shots and 1.1 more free throws per game. He’s been a high-volume scorer for years, averaging more than 20.0 shots per game for a decade.
For most of their careers, Gilgeous-Alexander has lived on the other side of that equation. He hasn’t needed the same kind of shot volume because Oklahoma City has usually had enough help around him, with Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren and a stable supporting cast taking on their share. That setup let Gilgeous-Alexander pile up points with elite efficiency.
This season started with that same feel. If anything, the early expectation was that he might have to ease off a bit with more offensive options in the mix. The injuries changed everything.
Now the burden looks different. Gilgeous-Alexander’s last two outings - 43 points and 42 points - came on a combined 61 shot attempts, much closer to the kind of workload Doncic has carried for years than the usual 19-20 shots per game fans are used to seeing from the reigning MVP.
If that trend sticks, Oklahoma City’s younger role players will keep learning on the fly while Gilgeous-Alexander handles the heavy lifting. And if the last two games are any sign, he’s in position to make a real run at Luka Doncic for the NBA’s scoring crown.
In Other News...
Kevin Durants Thunder History Sparked Another Viral Fan Debate
A harmless-looking social media exchange was enough to drag Kevin Durants Thunder history back into the spotlight this week. A user named Drew joked that another account defending Durant had to be his new burner, and the line caught fire fast, feeding into the long-running fascination around Durants online presence and the old Oklahoma City debates that still follow him.
The account at the center of it all quickly pushed back, insisting there was no Durant connection and treating the sudden attention with a sense of humor. Even so, the episode showed how easily anything tied to Durant can reopen familiar arguments for Thunder fans, especially when it comes to his criticism of the franchises front office and the lingering curiosity around his social media past. [Read more 🡒]
Thunder Suddenly Need Kenrich Williams More Than Anyone Expected
The Thunders depth has been tested in a way few teams can fully prepare for, with Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace and Chet Holmgren all sidelined by lengthy injuries. In the middle of that stretch, Kenrich Williams has become a far more important piece than Oklahoma City likely expected, giving the rotation a steadier edge with his physical defense and enough offense to help keep the group afloat.
Oklahoma City has already worked the margins of the roster through trades, balancing salary concerns with draft capital as it tries to stay flexible. A wing addition still feels like the sort of move that could make sense, but the Thunder may also decide the current collection of pieces is enough to get through the season if Williams keeps holding up his end of the load. [Read more 🡒]
Thunder Face A Big NBA Cup Test With Key Pieces Uncertain
The Thunders first NBA Cup test of the season comes with a little more uncertainty than they would prefer, as they head to FedExForum to face the Memphis Grizzlies with six players on the injury report. Among the names to watch are Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace and Chet Holmgren, a reminder that Oklahoma City is still managing the fallout from a physical stretch while trying to keep its early-season momentum intact.
Memphis has only two players listed on its injury report, so the availability picture is cleaner on the other side of the matchup. For Oklahoma City, the bigger question is how much of its core it will actually have available when the Cup format raises the stakes, especially with several rotation pieces still in question as tipoff approaches. [Read more 🡒]