Rising Star: Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Among Top-Five NBA Players Under 25

In terms of the best young talent in the league, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is at the top.

In the modern NBA, young players are starting to make more of an impact on their respective teams early in their careers. As such, some of the best players in the entire league are in their early twenties. 

With that in mind, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is among the best young players in the entire NBA. As a 22-year-old last season, he was the best player on the Oklahoma City Thunder, successfully being the face of an NBA franchise in just his third season.

With many of these young superstars around the league set to be the top players in the NBA down the road, Fansided ranks the top 25 players under 25 years old each season. 

Prior to the 2020-21 season, Gilgeous-Alexander ranked No. 13 overall on this list. After a wildly successful season, he jumped all the way up to No. 5 in the 2021 Fansided 25-Under-25.

Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is listed at No. 5 in the @FanSided 25-under-25.

One of the rising stars in the league, it’s no surprise to see him ranked so high.

Last season, he averaged 23.7 points, 5.9 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game on 50/40/80 splits.

— Nick Crain (@CrainNBA) October 6, 2021

Let's take a look at the top ten players on this year's list.

Player	Team
1. Luka Doncic	Dallas Mavericks
2. Jayson Tatum	Boston Celtics
3. Zion Williamson	New Orleans Pelicans
4. Trae Young	Atlanta Hawks
5. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	Oklahoma City Thunder
6. Bam Adebayo	Miami Heat
7. Ja Morant	Memphis Grizzlies
8. De'Aaron Fox	Sacramento Kings
9. Deandre Ayton	Phoenix Suns
10. Brandon Ingram	New Orleans Pelicans

This puts Gilgeous-Alexander in great company. Him and his peers on the list have some of the brightest futures in the entire NBA. 

As the building block the Thunder will construct their roster around going forward, Gilgeous-Alexander will only get better. During every extended break from in-season play, he's made tremendous leaps as a player, constantly evolving as a playmaker and developing his overall game.

Entering his fourth NBA season, Gilgeous-Alexander has a real chance to insert himself as a top-25 player in the league, regardless of age.

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