Shai Gilgeous-Alexander isn’t just having a great season - he’s redefining what greatness looks like for a modern NBA guard.
At 32.0 points per game while shooting a blistering 55.0% from the field, the Oklahoma City Thunder star is doing things we simply haven’t seen before. Not this efficiently.
Not with this volume. Not from a guard tasked with carrying his team night in and night out.
To put it into perspective, the next closest player on the list of guards who’ve averaged the most points per game in a season while shooting at least 55.0%? Magic Johnson - at 18.3 points.
That’s a 13.7-point gap between Shai and the next name on the list. Let that sink in.
This isn’t just about numbers. It’s about how those numbers are being produced.
Guards aren’t supposed to be this efficient. They’re perimeter players, shot creators, floor generals - they take tough looks, absorb contact, and often have to score in isolation.
Shooting 55% from the field is typically reserved for big men living in the paint. But Shai is doing it with a handle, a midrange game, and a calm, deliberate pace that keeps defenders guessing and fans shaking their heads in disbelief.
Even Michael Jordan, the gold standard for scoring guards, never hit this level of efficiency. His most accurate season came in 1989, when he shot 53.8% from the field and averaged 31.5 points.
Incredible? Absolutely.
But Shai’s current numbers are even more efficient - and he’s doing it in a league that’s faster, more spaced out, and loaded with elite defenders.
What makes Shai’s season even more remarkable is how sustainable it’s looked. This isn’t a hot streak.
It’s been months of surgical precision, game after game. He’s not just scoring - he’s doing it within the flow of the offense, while still creating for others and anchoring a Thunder team that’s looking more and more like a legitimate title contender.
And the league is taking notice. According to FanDuel, Shai is now the overwhelming favorite to win his second straight MVP, with odds at minus-425. That’s not just frontrunner status - that’s “everyone else is playing for second” territory.
What we’re watching isn’t just a player having a moment. It’s a player stepping into the kind of rarefied air that only a handful in league history ever reach.
If he keeps this up - and there’s every reason to believe he can - we’re not just talking about one of the best players in the league right now. We’re talking about a legacy that could eventually land him among the all-time greats.
The Thunder have something special in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. A one-of-one type of player. And if this season is any indication, we’re witnessing the early chapters of a career that could change the way we talk about elite guard play in the NBA.