NBA GMs think Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will have a breakout season
The annual NBA general manager survey is out, and while mentions of the Oklahoma City Thunder were sparse, there are three mentions of the rebuilding team.
Guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was tied for the highest vote total of players who are most likely to experience a breakout season.
Fifteen percent of general managers voted for the third-year player in this category, putting him at the top of the list alongside Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr.
Trailing them was Sacramento Kings guard DeAaron Fox with 12%, Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker with 8% and New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson with 8%.
Gilgeous-Alexander will have the chance to lead a team for the first time in his career. He started for the Los Angeles Clippers as a rookie and the Thunder as a second-year player, but he wasn’t the focal point of either offense.
Now, after a trade spree, the team is his. After averaging 19 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists last year, it’s not outlandish at all to imagine Gilgeous-Alexander averaging something in the 23 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists per game range, which is something that only six players achieved last season.
General managers around the league wouldn’t be surprised to see that.
The GMs thought that the Thunder as a whole had a very good offseason, with 15% voting OKC as the team that made the best moves. That trails only the Los Angeles Lakers, with 37%, and the Phoenix Suns, whose trade with the Thunder for Chris Paul helped them net 22% of the vote.
Oklahoma City rookie Theo Maledon also received at least one vote. He was in the footnotes of which rookie was the biggest steal relative to draft position. The Thunder acquired his draft rights, the No. 34 pick, from the Philadelphia 76ers.
Tyrese Haliburton, who was selected by the Sacramento Kings with the No. 12 pick, ran away with that category as he received 43% of the vote.
