Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has already done the part that usually comes with the spotlight. He won the scoring title during the 2024-25 season, and last year he still put up 31.3 points per game, good for second in the NBA. So if the Thunder star ends up outside the top spot again, it won’t be because he stopped being one of the league’s most dangerous scorers.
That’s the bigger point here: Oklahoma City does not need him to chase points for the sake of chasing points. A recent Bleacher Report prediction for the top 10 scorers in the 2026-27 season had Gilgeous-Alexander finishing second once more, and that would still fit just fine with what the Thunder need from him.
He’s already shown how quickly he can shift gears when defenses load up on him. In the postseason, teams clearly built their plans around stopping Gilgeous-Alexander first, and he answered by changing the way he played. His scoring dipped to 27.6 points per game, but he also posted a career-high 7.9 assists per game.
That kind of adjustment matters even more when every scouting report in the league has back-to-back MVP on the front of it. The regular season may not be quite as concentrated defensively as the playoffs, but the attention is still coming.
And Oklahoma City has enough behind him to make that approach work. Jalen Williams is expected back as a secondary scorer after averaging over 21 points per game at his peak in 2024. The Thunder are also counting on more from young players such as Ajay Mitchell and Cason Wallace to ease the offensive burden.
That gives Gilgeous-Alexander room to do what he does best without having to force the issue. He can run the offense, create, score when it’s there, and let the rest of the roster handle more of the load. He’s more than capable of leading the league in points again, but for the Thunder, it doesn’t have to be the goal.
In Other News...
Thunder Title Push Now Rests On How Their Core Responds
The Thunder enter the 2026-27 season still carrying the sting of a Western Conference Finals loss to San Antonio, but their blueprint for another title run remains intact. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is coming off a second straight regular-season MVP, and Oklahoma City has plenty of reason to believe its core can keep driving the franchise forward after a postseason that ended before the finish line it wanted.
Jalen Williams has been working through a productive offseason as he looks to get back to full strength, and Chet Holmgren is spending the summer trying to turn a difficult playoff stretch into a reset under Mark Daigneault. For a team that has already established itself among the Wests elite, the next leap depends less on adding noise and more on how those familiar names answer after a spring that left room for a lot of unfinished business. [Read more 🡒]
Thunder May Already Have A Better Short-Term Answer Than Aday Mara
Thomas Sorbers arrival has already given the Thunder a different kind of frontcourt conversation than the one that followed Aday Maras selection a year later. Sorber came into the organization as the 15th pick in the 2025 NBA Draft after missing his first college season because of a torn ACL, but the early read on him has centered on what he can do defensively when hes on the floor. For a team that keeps thinking long term while still trying to win now, that kind of immediate utility matters.
Mara, taken 12th in the 2026 draft, still has plenty of upside, but the adjustment to NBA speed and physicality can take time for a young big man. That is why there is already some belief around the Thunder that Sorber could wind up ahead of him in the short-term pecking order. The larger question is whether Oklahoma City sees Sorber as a useful piece right away or simply the first answer while it waits for Mara to catch up. [Read more 🡒]
Thunder Just Added Another Big Man With One Roster Question Looming
The Thunder have added another layer to their frontcourt depth by signing center Christoph Tilly to an Exhibit-10 contract, a camp deal that gives Oklahoma City some extra size for preseason while keeping the long-term picture flexible. Tilly arrives as an undrafted free agent and, barring a surprise turn, should spend most of his time with the OKC Blue while serving as a depth option as the Thunder work through the early stages of camp.
What makes the move more interesting is that Oklahoma City still has an open standard roster spot, which leaves the front office with a decision to make before the Oct. 20 season opener. An Exhibit-10 can be a useful bridge, especially for a player trying to carve out a place in the organization, and the Thunder have the ability to turn one of these training-camp arrangements into a standard deal if the right fit emerges. [Read more 🡒]