OKC Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's steals have him in historic NBA company
It’s easy to be awestruck by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s offensive stats.
The Thunder guard, entering this week, is averaging a career-high 31.5 points on a career-high 54.7% shooting. His 6.4 assists? Yup, a career-high.
SGA ranks fourth in the NBA in scoring, 15th in assists and the Thunder is scoring a sizzling 122.0 points per 100 possessions with SGA on the floor as opposed to 110.4 points per 100 possessions when he’s off the floor. The Thunder has the fourth-best offense in the NBA — behind the Pacers, Celtics and Bucks — because of SGA.
But it’s a defensive stat that shines brightest in Gilgeous-Alexander’s sparkling season: 2.4 steals per game.
Gilgeous-Alexander is a worthy MVP candidate due to his two-way play. SGA reached a new level of defensive dominance last season, and he’s continued it this season.
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With Lu Dort as the Thunder’s point-of-attack defender and Chet Holmgren as the team’s rim protector, the 6-foot-6 Gilgeous-Alexander has wreaked havoc off the ball — jumping passing lanes and getting deflections like an elite cornerback. And on the ball, SGA’s hands are so quick, his movements so smooth that he’s become a master pickpocket.
Gilgeous-Alexander leads the NBA with 80 steals. Next closest is Portland’s Matisse Thybulle with 56. That 24-steal difference between SGA and Thybulle is the same difference between Thybulle and a group of players, including OKC’s Jalen Williams, tied for 63rd in the league with 32 steals.
Gilgeous-Alexander is on pace to break the Thunder’s single-season steals record — 163 by Russell Westbrook in 2015-16. Westbrook played in 80 games that season. SGA, at his current pace, would have 180 steals by his 75th game.
Since being traded to the Thunder after his rookie season, SGA has 369 steals. He’s fifth on the Thunder’s all-time steals list behind Westbrook (1,442), Kevin Durant (696), Steven Adams (469) and Thabo Sefolosha (453). At this blistering pace, SGA could pass Adams and Sefolosha by the end of the season.
Steals aren’t some empty statistic. Of course his steal numbers alone aren’t driving this, but the Thunder’s defense has been at its worst when SGA is off the court, allowing 113.9 points per 100 possessions as opposed to 110.0 when he’s on the court.
If SGA maintains his 2.4 steals per game, it will have been the most per game in the NBA since Victor Oladipo also averaged 2.4 steals in 2017-18 with the Pacers.
Here’s an even better bit of history: Gilgeous-Alexander is on track to become just the ninth player ever to average at least 30 points and two steals per game.
Michael Jordan had eight such seasons. Allen Iverson had three. Rick Barry, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Stephen Curry and James Harden did it once.
Gilgeous-Alexander will likely add his name to that list.
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OKC Thunder mailbag
From @mattymullspod: What steps can the city do to bring in an additional professional sports team? What is most likely?
The city’s priority, at least for the last couple of years, has been to keep the one professional sports team it has. Mission accomplished on that one, with Oklahoma City residents voting to build a new arena for the Thunder.
Getting another big-four pro sports team — NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL — is not in OKC’s near future. The city is growing, but this market is barely big enough to support one big-league franchise.
A reasonable dream would be to lure a Major League Soccer team to Oklahoma City. Related to that, it’s worth monitoring a MAPS 4 proposal for a soccer stadium to be built south of downtown.
From @NBAstocks1: Is it risky for the Thunder to make a win-now trade considering how young the team is? If so, who is most likely going to get shipped out?
It depends on the degree of the win-now trade, but yes, there’s risk. There’s risk in adding a piece before you know what you need. There’s risk in taking developmental minutes away from younger players. There’s risk in messing up the vibes. And if the Thunder would go all the way in, there’s risk in limiting the team’s financial flexibility moving forward.
I’m not saying I’d be adverse to taking any risks, but as I wrote last week, I don’t see the deal. I’m more interested in seeing how this current version of the Thunder fares in the playoffs before making any moves.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is collecting historic number of steals
