Will Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Eclipse His Career High This Season?

Oklahoma City’s superstar has been a model of consistency on the court.

May 18, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) shoots over Dallas Mavericks forward Derrick Jones Jr. (55) during the first quarter in game six of the second round of the 2024 NBA playoffs at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been a model of consistency for a young Thunder team. Headed into the first season with title expectations, his presence and abilities are more important than ever.

Over the course of the rebuild, Thunder fans have watched Gilgeous-Alexander go from a young prospect, to a fringe All-Star candidate, and blossom into an MVP contender. It’s clear that he’s universally thought of as a Top 5 player in the NBA. His scoring output has gone toe-to-toe with some of the league’s very best bucket getters, and it’s evident in his points per game average.

SGA has back-to-back seasons averaging over 30 points per game, and each season was ultra efficient. With the impressive points total, there had to be a few outliers where Gilgeous-Alexander took over and scored more than 50 points, right? At least 45 points, right? The most shocking part of Gilgeous-Alexander’s scoring totals is that his consistency shines through. Most nights, it’s no more and no less than 30 points — right on his average. Gilgeous-Alexander has never eclipsed more than 44 points in his career.

ESPN recently released an NBA preview detailing every team in the association, and gave a few sharp bets to go along with it. The Thunder’s best bet, surprisingly, was that Gilgeous-Alexander notches his first 50-point performance this season. At +130, the odds aren’t great for someone who doesn’t typically get close to 50 points, either.

"Only Luka Doncic (33.1) and Joel Embiid (34.1) are projected to have a higher PPG than Gilgeous-Alexander (32.0),” Eric Moody wrote. “His career high is 44 points, but he had six games with 40-plus last season. As the Thunder's top offensive playmaker, there's a strong chance he'll finally hit 50 this season.”

While Gilgeous-Alexander is certainly capable, a 50-point outing seems far from a safe bet. The Thunder superstar has been extremely consistent with his scoring over the last three seasons and rarely takes enough shots to get near that total. More 40-point performances could make sense, but 50 points would be surprising.

Oklahoma City also has its most talented roster since the 2015-16 season, and arguable the deepest roster in the franchise's history. There's plenty of players to take shots and lots of points to go around. Gilgeous-Alexander could continue being a model of consistency and hovering around that 30-point mark night in and night out.

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