<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/image_2021-09-19_155352.png"></figure><h1>Buy Shai Gilgeous-Alexander stock before he blows up for the Thunder next season</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-09-19T01:00:16-07:00">September 19th, 1:00am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-09-19T01:00:57-07:00">September 19th, 1:00am</time><address><a href="https://medium.com/@rpsalao">R.P. Salao</a>Check out my best stuff on Medium - medium.com/@rpsalao.I also post quality NBA YouTube content - tinyurl.com/SalaoYouTube.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Oklahoma City Thunder fans still vividly recall their first game last season. At very least, they remember final possession. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had the ball in his hands with the game on the line against the Charlotte Hornets.</p><p>With the score dead even at 107 and just seconds remaining on the game clock, SGA made his move from half court against Cody Martin. It wasn’t anything fancy – just a few dribble moves followed by a hesitation to get his defender off-balance before going in for the kill.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Reminder that SGA hit this game winner in his first game as the face of the franchise <a href="https://t.co/x4F4P5Cfv1" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/x4F4P5Cfv1</a></p><p>— 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒆 🌩 (@Three_Cone) <a href="https://twitter.com/Three_Cone/status/1351059857852522501?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">January 18, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><blockquote>“I got a couple moves I like to get to on the iso,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander <a href="https://twitter.com/CrainNBA/status/1343036670325743618?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1343036670325743618%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fclutchpoints.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D1485861action%3Dedit">said postgame.</a> “After that, it’s just read and react…that’s a shot I practice a lot.”</blockquote><p>Simple yet effective answer, just as he is on the court. The Oklahoma City Thunder started the season well following this SGA game-winner, then eventually tailed off to fall to a bottom five record in the NBA last season. But it gave Shai enough time to showcase just how good he can be.</p><p>The Thunder star <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/players/shai-gilgeous-alexander/bb5e09d9/stats">posted averages</a> of 23.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.9 assists in 35 games last season. The raw numbers made him worthy of some All-Star consideration last year, but it was his efficiency that really turned heads. His excellence flew under the radar given the Thunder’s poor season, but it deserves the spotlight before he comes back for his fourth act next season. Here are <b>two (2) ways Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was ridiculously effective</b> last season.</p><h2><b>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s underrated jumper</b></h2><p>A minor drop-off from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s shooting splits wouldn’t have been surprising given that he was no longer playing alongside star guards Chris Paul and Dennis Schroder. However, with all the defensive attention shifting their focus on him, SGA somehow got better. He went from 47.1 to 50.8% from the field and a shocking leap in three-point shooting from 34.7 to 41.8%. Had his three-point shooting qualified, that puts SGA just 0.1% off the Top 20 shooters in the league.</p><p>What’s even more impressive is the <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/player/1628983/shooting/">manner at which he was getting those shots.</a> Of Shai’s 71 made three-pointers last season, 50 of them were unassisted, meaning he created them off the dribble. That comes out to a rate of <b>over 70% of his triples being self-created. </b></p><p>To put that into context, three-point percentage leader Joe Harris <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/player/203925/shooting/">had 0% (!!!) of his 211 threes</a> unassisted while runner-up Marcus Morris had just 6.4% of his not coming off a pass. Even some of the league’s best outside scorers didn’t come close to SGA’s self-creation from deep last season. Kevin Durant, who also played in 35 games like SGA, <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/player/201142/shooting/">was unassisted</a> on just 35.2% of his three-pointers made. Stephen Curry is the poster boy for off-the-dribble deep shots, but even he had <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/player/201939/shooting/">majority of his assisted</a>. The Golden State Warriors star only had 41.2% of his threes self-generated.</p><p>Now there are various factors that come into play here. The sample size for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander isn’t as large, both in number of games played and number of attempts per contest. However, 35 games was only a game shy of half the season while taking 4.9 deep shots per game, which is still a pretty significant amount.</p><p>SGA’s need to conjure up his own attempts is more of a testament to the dearth of talent around him compared to some of the league’s other marquee players. But the very fact that he’s facing that handicap and still playing efficiently as heck bodes well for how good he’ll be in his prime once he has a talented roster around him.</p><h2><b>SGA – Best penetrator in the NBA</b></h2><p>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has improved by leaps and bounds from distance. But what makes him truly special is his ability to get into the paint. The Thunder guard has a knack for getting to the rim at awkward angles and finding ways to finish despite not having extraordinary speed and athleticism.</p><figure class="op-interactive"></figure><p>It’s a sight to behold seeing his lanky frame slither his way past the opposing team’s best defender. He was able to do so with ease last season basically every single night.</p><p>Among the 151 players who scored at least two points off of drives per game last season (min. 35 games), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/shooting-efficiency/?sort=DRIVE_FG_PCT&amp;dir=1&amp;CF=GP*GE*35:DRIVE_PTS*GE*2&amp;Season=2020-21&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season">ranked 15th</a> in the entire league in scoring efficiency at 55.4% shooting off drives. That puts him right behind Stephen Curry (55.5% off drives) and Kawhi Leonard (55.8% off drives) in terms of converting drives into made baskets.</p><p>And while you could argue a small sample size when it comes to SGA’s three-point shooting numbers, there’s no way to invalidate his proficiency off penetration. That’s because Shai Gilgeous-Alexander <b>led the entire NBA in drives per game</b> and it <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/drives/?sort=DRIVES&amp;dir=1&amp;Season=2020-21&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season">wasn’t even close.</a></p><p>The difference between Shai’s league-leading 25.2 drives per game and runner-up Luka Doncic’s 20.3 is bigger than the gap between Doncic and 13th place Donovan Mitchell, who had 15.5 drives per game. Leading every NBA player on the planet in drives while rating at the 90th percentile in efficiency is impossible to write off. His finishes may not always make the highlight reels, but he’s downright lethal at finishing them.</p><p>Combine his much-improved three-point shooting with his league-best drive game and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s path to stardom is undeniable. All he needs is a bigger spotlight and better teammates for the league to take notice. With the Oklahoma City Thunder owning the largest war chest of draft assets in the NBA, it’s just going to be a matter of when and not if.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Buy Shai Gilgeous-Alexander stock before he blows up for the Thunder next season

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Thunder-news-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander-declares-himself-_Black-Steve-Nash_-thumbnail.jpg"></figure><h1>Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander declares himself ‘Black Steve Nash’</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-09-16T08:16:20-07:00">September 16th, 8:16am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-09-16T08:17:02-07:00">September 16th, 8:17am</time><address><a>Jason Patt</a>Jason Patt has been an editor at ClutchPoints since 2018. He also covers the Bulls for Forbes and SB Nation's Blog a Bull. In addition, he co-hosts Cash Considerations: A Chicago Bulls Podcast for the Blue Wire Network. If you couldn't tell, he's from Chicago.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a big fan of the way Steve Nash played the game. That’s why he views himself as something of a second coming of the Hall of Famer.</p><p><a href="https://www.gq.com/story/shai-gilgeous-alexander-nyfw" rel="noopener">Via GQ’s Tyler R Tynes:</a></p><blockquote>“Me?” he says, casting a devilish little grin. “Well, I’m the Black Steve Nash.”</blockquote><p>That’s quite the bold statement from SGA, but the Thunder guard certainly has plenty of confidence and swagger behind those words.</p><p>His play on the court also does plenty of talking. The Thunder guard is just 23 years old and just had a ridiculous statistical season for OKC, albeit in just 35 games as the team tanked in 2020-21. But in those 35 games, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 23.7 points, 5.9 assists and 4.7 rebounds while shooting 50.8% overall and 41.8% from 3-point range.</p><p>While the Nash comparison seems crazy, he didn’t really start racking up the assist numbers until his mid-20s. There’s still plenty of room for SGA to grow as a playmaker, and it will definitely help him when he gets better players around him … whenever that is.</p><p>Nash also became one of the best shooters of all time, boasting incredible efficiency throughout his career. Gilgeous-Alexander turning into one of the best shooters ever is a major stretch, but going nearly 51/41/81 last season was quite the impressive feat.</p><p>We’ll see how closely Shai Gilgeous-Alexander can follow a Steve Nash path, but right now it’s hard to bet against him becoming one of the best players in the NBA. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-shai-gilgeous-alexander-signs-massive-170-million-max-rookie-extension-with-okc/" rel="noopener">He was also just rewarded with a mammoth contract extension</a>, so the Thunder star has that going for him.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander declares himself ‘Black Steve Nash’

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander_s-bold-goal-that-will-hype-up-Oklahoma-City-fans.jpg"></figure><h1>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s bold goal that will hype up Thunder fans</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-09-15T21:19:18-07:00">September 15th, 9:19pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-09-15T21:19:18-07:00">September 15th, 9:19pm</time><address><a>Angelo Guinhawa</a>Angelo Guinhawa is a basketball and soccer/football editor/writer. He uses his background in digital marketing to make sure you get to read his work. He has previously worked for FOX Sports PH and a number of reputable sports media outlets. If he's not writing or watching sports, he's likely scouring online for his next NBA card purchase.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder">Oklahoma City Thunder</a> rising star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander knows what he wants to accomplish in his NBA career, and he’s not settling for anything less.</p><p>In an interview with <a href="https://www.gq.com/story/shai-gilgeous-alexander-nyfw" rel="noopener">GQ</a>, SGA opened up about his three-year career so far after being drafted 11th overall by the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/los-angeles-clippers">Los Angeles Clippers</a> in 2018 to being traded to the Thunder and eventually signing a massive <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-shai-gilgeous-alexander-signs-massive-170-million-max-rookie-extension-with-okc/" rel="noopener">five-year, $172 million extension</a> this offseason. For the 23-year-old, though, he’s no longer looking at everything that happened and is now focusing on what he can do to become one of the greatest players to ever grace the NBA hardwood.</p><blockquote>“Ever since then, I never looked back. I want to be one of the best point guards to ever play,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I’m not playing this game just to be a good basketball player. I want to be one of the greatest to ever play.”</blockquote><p>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s remarks will certainly bring a smile to every Thunder fan. After all, as the face of the franchise, Oklahoma fans have high hopes that he can bring the team back to relevance after the departure of their own superstars.</p><p>SGA has a chance to be one of the superstars of the NBA today, and there’s no doubt he has the tools to fulfill his mission of being one of the best to ever play the game. Had it not been for his foot injury last season, he wouldn’t have been as overlooked as he is today when discussing the best young players in the league.</p><p>For now, though, the Canadian youngster knows he needs to focus on his health and get back to 100 percent for the 2021-22 season to show everyone what he can do. The Thunder are in a rebuilding mode, which is the perfect opportunity for Shai to prove he can lead his team to wins.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s bold goal that will hype up Thunder fans

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Thunder-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander.jpg"></figure><h1>The Thunder X Factor For 2021-22 NBA Season, And It’s Not Shai Gilgeous-Alexander</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-09-11T08:26:01-07:00">September 11th, 8:26am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-09-11T08:32:37-07:00">September 11th, 8:32am</time><address><a>Nihad Žunić</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Oklahoma City Thunder did not have much success in the 2020-21 NBA season. After making the Playoffs in each of the five seasons prior to that and 10 times in the last eleven years, the squad went 22-50 last year, as they focused more on the evolution of their young guns. The leader of the team is undisputedly led by guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had an amazing year, but he was not the only contributor. Serbian forward Aleksej Pokusevski had a few great games and sophomore Darius Bazley had a good year as well.</p><p>Based on what the Thunder are doing, it seems like the next two years will still be focused on rebuilding the team. The front office accumulated many assets for the future, but that does not mean that this squad will not play their heart out and try to reach the postseason. For that to happen, however, it will take more work and steady improvement from absolutely everyone on the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/roster">roster</a>.</p><h2>Thunder X-Factors</h2><p>While all eyes will continue to be on Gilgeous-Alexander and his further development, this roster has several parts that can contribute in a big way. The focus of this season is clearly to develop youngsters and the Thunder has one who can take major steps forward in the form of Luguentz Dort.</p><p>The Canadian forward came seemingly out of nowhere in the NBA Bubble a year ago. After averaging just under seven points, Dort exploded with some huge games in the Playoffs, giving him an opportunity to really earn his minutes on this roster. When last season started and when it was clear that the Thunder coaching staff will give more minutes to the youngsters on the squad, Dort used the opportunity perfectly.</p><p>The forward came from averaging just under 23 minutes to averaging almost 30 and used the time well. He increased his points per game to 14, albeit with the efficiency still being an issue. His shooting splits were 38.7/34.3/74.4, which is not ideal, but that only means that he has a lot of room for improvement.</p><p>It is clear that he is being pushed into the role of a second option on offense, which is understandable since Dort is the second-best prospect on the squad. However, it does not always seem to suit him, but he could work on it this summer and in the preseason. If he can improve his efficiency and settle in the role coach Mark Daigneault clearly wants him to have, Dort can take massive strides to further inspire optimism in Oklahoma City.</p><p>Apart from Dort, Aleksej Pokuševski is another promising youngster for Oklahoma City. He did not have great numbers last season, but that was understandable as he was just a rookie then He averaged 8.2 points on 34.1/28.0/73.8 shooting splits, which is not ideal. However, in extended minutes, Pokuševski absolutely filled it up. On the 16th of May, against the Clippers, he scored 29 points on 10/19 shooting, including 6/9 from behind the arc. Additionally, on the 7th of April against the Charlotte Hornets, he scored 25 on 9/14 shooting, including an efficient 7/11 from three.</p><p>It is clear from these games, where he played 40 and 33 minutes, respectively, that Pokuševski has a ton of potential. All that he really needs is to increase his consistency and efficiency overall. It is good that he is playing for the Thunder, where he can have a lot of time and space to do it. Obviously, the issues he had were mostly due to the adjustment to the league, so he should improve on that eventually. It will be up to his work rate and the willingness of his coach to give him more minutes and opportunities to show his worth.</p><p>While the Thunder are definitely not the greatest team in the West, they still have tools to make the postseason race interesting. It all depends on how Gilgeous-Alexander develops and how the coaching staff distributes minutes. Other than the aforementioned Pokuševski, Bazely, and Dort, the squad also has <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/oklahoma-city-thunder-3-way-too-early-bold-predictions-for-the-2021-22-nba-season/">rookie</a>s Josh Giddey, taken with the sixth overall pick, and Tre Mann, taken with the 18th selection in the 2021 NBA Draft.</p><p>While the rookies are going to impact the team from the get-go, due to the position of the franchise, it will be up to the more experienced guys on the roster to carry the load and increase their chances for a Playoff run. At the end of the day, even if the Thunder do  not make the postseason, the sheer amount of assets on and off the floor the front office assembled promises Oklahoma City that it will be a force to be reckoned with in the future.</p><p>One thing is for sure – this is a hungry roster that can give opponents a run for their money.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

The Thunder X Factor For 2021-22 NBA Season, And It’s Not Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander-2018-draft-2018-NBA-Draft-NBA-rookie-cards-NBA-Rookie-Card.jpeg"></figure><h1>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and 4 best NBA rookie cards from 2018 draft to snag before the season</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-08-27T07:35:50-07:00">August 27th, 7:35am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-08-27T07:37:08-07:00">August 27th, 7:37am</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/julio.munar/" rel="facebook">Julio Luis Munar</a>Julio just revived his love for trading cards, which had been on hiatus since 1999. Using his degree in Journalism and an unbridled passion to learn how the card industry works, he churns out the latest news and opinion pieces about the hobby. He also possesses a treasure trove of knowledge on all things comics.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cards</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Basketball fans have always revered three NBA Draft classes above all the others – 1984, 1996, and 2003. The first two gave fans Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant respectively, while the last one produced the King himself, LeBron James. Although the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-cards-luka-doncic-trae-young-and-sga-arent-the-only-cards-to-collect-from-the-2018-nba-draft/">Class of 2018</a> is still young and raw, there are a lot of indications they can give their predecessors a run for their money. In this post, we’re looking at specific NBA rookie cards. </p><p>We take a look below at the best rookies not named Luka Doncic or Trae Young to invest in from the 2018 Draft Class.</p><h2><b>NBA Rookie Cards From 2018 Draft Class</b></h2><p><b>Jaren Jackson Jr. Rookie Cards</b></p><p>While most of the spotlight is focused on Ja Morant, there’s a strong case to be made for Jaren Jackson Jr. The Memphis Grizzlies’ big man went through a promising rookie year and suffered disappointing campaigns in his second and third year in the league.</p><figure><img src="https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/rgcAAOSwyB1hGr2J/s-l1600.jpg"></figure><p>While these lost seasons can be attributed to injuries, the potential of Jackson still remains. He is one of the few guys who boast elite size, rim protection and shot creation from beyond the arc. His particular set of skills fit the mold of the modern big man in the NBA, something that can help Memphis break out next season. </p><p>As of now, Jackson’s PSA 10 Prizm Silver rookie card is valued at <a href="https://www.ebay.com/itm/203570592127?hash=item2f65c0b97f:g:X8QAAOSwf9JhHr5U">$310</a>. That price can shoot up next season, especially now that he can get more minutes at the 5.</p><p><b>Michael Porter Jr. Rookie Cards</b></p><p>Last season, Michael Porter Jr. broke out from obscurity and became the Denver Nuggets’ third option behind Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. And with the latter bowing out before the postseason due to an injury, Porter found himself needed to keep Mile High City’s offense afloat.</p><p>His value became more apparent when the Nuggets entered the playoffs against the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round. In that series, MPJ averaged 18.8 points on 53% shooting from the field, 41% from downtown, and 91% from the charity stripe. He also posted 6.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and a steal in 34.6 minutes.</p><figure><img src="https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/Js0AAOSwvJthJDfN/s-l1600.jpg"></figure><p>Although he was a non-factor in the Nuggets’ second round-exit, courtesy of the Phoenix Suns, Porter’s upside was clearly on display for everyone to see. With a current PSA 10 Prizm Silver rookie card value of <a href="https://www.ebay.com/itm/373695254610?hash=item5701f91052:g:Js0AAOSwvJthJDfN">$500</a>, there’s still a long way for this young forward to go, both on the court and in the card market.</p><p><b>Gary Trent Jr. Rookie Cards</b></p><p>Of the 58 games Gary Trent Jr. played last season, 17 of those were for the Toronto Raptors. Traded by the Portland Trail Blazers before the deadline, Trent immediately made an impact by bringing his offensive prowess to the North.</p><p>In those 17 games, Trent averaged 16.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.1 steals in 31.8 minutes per contest. Right off the bat, the 6’5” wing provided offense to the Raptors whenever they need it. As a result, Trent was awarded a three-year $54 million contract by Toronto during the offseason.</p><figure><img src="https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/rRcAAOSw6mNhJETw/s-l1600.jpg"></figure><p>It’s easy to see Trent exploding on offense at some point next season. When that happens, his current PSA 10 Prizm Silver rookie card value of <a href="https://www.ebay.com/itm/265282113570?hash=item3dc40bd022:g:jSMAAOSw18NhJEaC">$142</a> will certainly trend up.</p><p><b>Collin Sexton Rookie Cards</b></p><p>It’s easy to see Collin Sexton as a one-dimensional player who can just get buckets for his team. What many collectors don’t realize is the Cleveland Cavaliers’ guard is on the precipice of true stardom with the massive leap he took last season as his team’s number one option.</p><p>In 60 games he played for the Cavs, the Young Bull averaged 24.3 points on 47% shooting from the field, 37% from deep, and 81% from the free-throw line. Sexton also managed to nab 3.1 boards, 4.4 dimes, and a steal per contest.</p><figure><img src="https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/mOwAAOSwVWxhFX5-/s-l1600.jpg"></figure><p>Whether he will be traded to another team or not, there’s no denying Sexton is an alpha scorer. If he does get moved to a contending team, Sexton’s stock will definitely attract a lot of interest in the market. This potential scenario will boost his current PSA 10 Prizm Silver rookie card value of <a href="https://www.ebay.com/itm/154567472458?hash=item23fcf0754a:g:mOwAAOSwVWxhFX5-">$381</a> up.</p><p><b>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Rookie Cards</b></p><p>Out of all the 2018 Draft Class guys who aren’t Doncic or Young, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is possibly the most talented of them all. From playing second fiddle to Chris Paul in his sophomore campaign, SGA became the Oklahoma City Thunder’s top guy during his third year in the league.</p><p>Last season, Gilgeous-Alexander notched 23.7 points on an efficient 50% from the field, 41% from three, and 80% from the free-throw line. The 6’6” combo guard also orchestrated OKC’s offense by handing out 5.9 assists while posting 4.7 rebounds.</p><figure><img src="https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/-N8AAOSwsaRg-xpA/s-l1600.jpg"></figure><p>While his last season was derailed by a foot injury, collectors can expect <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/3-reasons-shai-gilgeous-alexander-is-the-best-rookie-card-bet-in-the-nba/">Shai Gilgeous-Alexander cards</a> to be unleashed when the NBA starts in a couple of months. With him at the head of a young and talented Thunder squad, they have the chance to defy expectations and make a surprising run in the Western Conference. If that becomes a reality, SGA’s PSA 10 Prizm Silver rookie card will go up from its present price of <a href="https://www.ebay.com/itm/184960882201?hash=item2b10871619:g:-N8AAOSwsaRg-xpA">$751</a>.</p><p>With most collectors are focused on young stars from recent drafts, those from the 2018 class still present a lot of value for their prices on the market right now. Better stock up on these guys because they have every chance to take a leap, both on the court and in NBA rookie cards value, when the new season opens.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and 4 best NBA rookie cards from 2018 draft to snag before the season

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Dennis-Schroder-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander-Lakers-Thunder.jpg"></figure><h1>Dennis Schroder reacts to Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander getting bag while waiting for his own</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-08-03T21:18:56-07:00">August 3rd, 9:18pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-08-04T07:58:29-07:00">August 4th, 7:58am</time><address><a>Paolo Mariano</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Dennis Schroder must feel like he’s in NBA purgatory as he waits to see what will happen in free agency after his season with the Los Angeles Lakers. With Russell Westbrook joining the fold, Schroder suddenly <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/players/dennis-schroder/a2f008e4/stats">became more expendable</a>.</p><p>In the meantime, Schroder must be hitting the refresh button on his Twitter account to monitor all the frenzied happenings in free agency. Most recently, he couldn’t help but comment on the Instagram post of Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander after the youngster got paid a bunch.</p><p>Gilgeous-Alexander on Tuesday posted a photo of him on the Thunder floor gazing up:</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="instagram-media"><div style="padding: 16px;"><p> </p><div style="display: flex;"><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div><div style="display: flex;"><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div><div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"><div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div><div style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 14px;"><div><div></div><div></div><div></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div><div></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"><div></div><div></div><div></div></div></div><div style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 24px;"><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div><p> </p><p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CSISZCZrmqm/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" rel="noopener" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (@shai)</a></p></div></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>A few moments later, Schroder posted a comment, expressing how excited he is for his former teammate, who got paid the maximum salary of $172 million for five years. SGA got the cheese!</p><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/schroder.png"></figure><p>Unfortunately for Schroder, the case hasn’t been the same for him. He has already said he wants to return with the Lakers. But his rumored asking price of around $20-25 million a year is too steep for the Purple &amp; Gold, especially after the team’s shopping spree so far.</p><p>Aside from Westbrook, the Lakers have also shored up their backcourt with Kendrick Nunn and Malik Monk. So, things might not be looking too good for the feisty point guard from Germany.</p><p>Dennis Schroder, however, should easily find a new team if he gets released by the Lakers, as the New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, and Dallas Mavericks <a href="https://heatnation.com/rumors/report-heat-bulls-and-mavericks-expected-to-show-interest-in-dennis-schroder/">have been linked to him</a>.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Dennis Schroder reacts to Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander getting bag while waiting for his own

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/image_2021-08-04_093004.png"></figure><h1>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s unspoken message to OKC after massive Thunder extension</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-08-03T18:59:25-07:00">August 3rd, 6:59pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-08-03T18:59:25-07:00">August 3rd, 6:59pm</time><address><a href="https://medium.com/@rpsalao">R.P. Salao</a>Check out my best stuff on Medium - medium.com/@rpsalao.I also post quality NBA YouTube content - tinyurl.com/SalaoYouTube.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is now officially the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder">Oklahoma City Thunder</a>’s franchise player. After signing a massive five-year, $172 million rookie max extension, his place in OKC’s future plan feels all but unquestioned.</p><p>The Thunder guard took to Instagram to send a subtle, yet obscenely sweet message to Oklahoma City after locking in his deal long-term. But while he did provide a 4-word caption, it was the location he put on the IG post that spoke volumes to OKC’s fans and hit many right in the feels.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="instagram-media"><div style="padding: 16px;"><p> </p><div style="display: flex;"><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div><div style="display: flex;"><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div><div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"><div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div><div style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 14px;"><div><div></div><div></div><div></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div><div></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"><div></div><div></div><div></div></div></div><div style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 24px;"><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div><p> </p><p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CSISZCZrmqm/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" rel="noopener" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (@shai)</a></p></div></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the subject of a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-rumors-okc-shocking-shai-gilgeous-alexander-trade-offer-pistons-no-1-pick/">handful of trade rumors</a> in the lead up to the NBA Draft. From rumblings about a Cade Cunningham swap, to potentially landing in Cleveland for the 3rd overall pick, SGA’s future in OKC was the subject of contention in recent weeks.</p><p>But it all seems ridiculous now in hindsight. SGA has been spectacular in two seasons with the Thunder. He averaged 19.1 points and 5.9 rebounds while learning under the tutelage of <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/players/chris-paul/a53c094a">Chris Paul</a> in Year 1. Then followed that up with an even better 23.7 points and 5.9 assists as the top dog with CP3 heading to the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/phoenix-suns">Phoenix Suns</a>.</p><p>The Oklahoma City Thunder have their franchise star and the biggest war chest of assets the NBA has probably ever seen. The future is bright in OKC.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s unspoken message to OKC after massive Thunder extension

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/shai-1.jpg"></figure><h1>REPORT: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander signs massive $170 million max rookie extension with Thunder</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-08-02T21:17:46-07:00">August 2nd, 9:17pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-08-04T15:37:27-07:00">August 4th, 3:37pm</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100018763751455" rel="facebook">Mico Ong</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Despite recent rumors suggesting they are losing faith in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Oklahoma City Thunder shut them all down by committing to the young scorer.</p><p>According to <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1422406550308720643" rel="noopener">Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN</a>, Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder have agreed to a five-year, $172 million maximum rookie extension. The deal also includes a 30 percent escalator clause that would turn the guaranteed $172M base into $207M should Gilgeous-Alexander be voted onto one of the three All-NBA teams.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has agreed to a five-year, $172 million maximum rookie contract extension, his agent Thaddeus Foucher of <a href="https://twitter.com/Wasserman?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@Wasserman</a> tells ESPN.</p><p>— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1422406550308720643?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">August 3, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the second member of the 2018 draft class to agree to an extension after Trae Young reached a five-year, $207 max extension with the Atlanta Hawks as well.</p><p>The youngster, who was acquired in the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-news-la-was-heartbroken-about-including-shai-gilgeous-alexander-paul-george-trade/" rel="noopener">Paul George trade back in 2019</a>, has been the cornerstone to the Thunder’s rebuild. Ever since the trade, the Canadian’s numbers have jumped from <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/gilgesh01.html">averaging</a> 10.8 points with the Clippers to averaging 19 points in his first season with the Thunder.</p><p>Gilgeous-Alexander posted a career-high in points for the Thunder last season as he<a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/gilgesh01.html"> averaged</a> 23.7 points on 50.8% shooting while grabbing 4.7 rebounds and dishing out 5.9 assists.</p><p>The contract extension with the Thunder is not a surprise as Gilgeous-Alexander showed his potential and his capabilities of carrying a team in his back.</p><p>It would not be surprising if SGA plays at a whole different level in years to come as he will be extremely motivated to enter the All-NBA team for his bonuses to kick in.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

REPORT: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander signs massive $170 million max rookie extension with Thunder

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/OKC_s-future-plans-for-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander-revealed.jpg"><figcaption>7/31/2021</figcaption></figure><h1>Rumor: Thunder’s future plans for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, revealed</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-07-31T15:45:27-07:00">July 31st, 3:45pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-10-11T16:39:45-07:00">October 11th, 4:39pm</time><address><a>Steve Zavala</a>Steve is a freelance writer covering the world of sports for ClutchPoints.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Ahead of the 2021 NBA Draft, the Oklahoma City Thunder were in the rumor mill over a possible trade involving Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. However, OKC has other plans in store regarding their promising guard.</p><p><a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2946614-sources-free-agency-spotlight-on-cp3-the-lowry-domino-emerging-pg-carousel" rel="noopener">As noted by Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer</a>, the Thunder are slated to soon come to terms with Gilgeous-Alexander on a five-year max contract agreement. The two sides are expected to reach an agreement for this mega-contract ahead of the upcoming season, which could be centered on a $172 million rookie-scale extension deal.</p><p>Even up to draft day, there was some chatter over the Thunder’s possible interest in trading away the versatile guard in order to move up in the draft. One report <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-rumors-okc-shocking-shai-gilgeous-alexander-trade-offer-pistons-no-1-pick/" rel="noopener">noted</a> that the Thunder aimed to acquire the Detroit Pistons’ No.1 overall pick in the draft in exchange for the No.6 overall pick and Gilgeous-Alexander.</p><p>From the Thunder’s perspective, this was all mere smokescreen, as the team instead had in mind orchestrating another notable trade.</p><p>The report further adds that the Thunder had preliminary talks with the Cleveland Cavaliers to acquire their No.3 overall pick, with whom they ended up taking former USC center Evan Mobley. However, the Thunder did not entertain the idea of shipping off Gilgeous-Alexander in such trade talks, as they only offered the Cavs “present and future draft capital”.</p><p>The Thunder well view Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as a player that can they build around for the future, and they aim to begin this process by signing him to a max contract deal. From there, the Thunder will look to orchestrate plans on just how to make the most out of their upcoming treasure trove of draft picks.</p><p>Gilgeous-Alexander is just coming off of his best season to date in the NBA; he posted career highs in points per game (23.7), assists per game (5.9) and field goal percentage (50.8 percent). More so, he notched 10 30-plus point games over the campaign, which included a 32-point showing against the Dallas Mavericks.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rumor: Thunder’s future plans for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, revealed

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Oklahoma-City-Thunder-trading-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander-would-be-reckless.jpeg"></figure><h1>Thunder trading Shai Gilgeous-Alexander would be reckless</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-07-27T15:28:39-07:00">July 27th, 3:28pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-07-27T15:28:39-07:00">July 27th, 3:28pm</time><address><a>Robbie Stratakos</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Rebuilding teams with a boatload of draft picks like the Oklahoma City Thunder should always be open to making significant trades. However, that does not mean trading away the best thing your franchise has going for itself. In other words, the Thunder would be out of their minds to move Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.</p><p>There have been a handful of reports over the last month stating that the Thunder guard could be moved. At first, it was that <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-shai-gilgeous-alexander-trade-speculation-drives-twitter-nuts/">Gilgeous-Alexander could be included in a blockbuster-like trade</a>. On Monday, it became that he was involved in <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-rumors-okc-shocking-shai-gilgeous-alexander-trade-offer-pistons-no-1-pick/">a trade proposal for the number one pick</a> in Thursday’s NBA Draft.</p><p>Any scenario where the Thunder trade Gilgeous-Alexander is a mistake.</p><p>Gilgeous-Alexander has become more productive and impactful in each of his three seasons in the NBA. In his rookie season, he was a steady and consistent force on both ends of the floor for the Los Angeles Clippers. Despite a season that featured midseason turnover, they won 48 games and took the star-studded Golden State Warriors to six games in the first round of the playoffs.</p><p>In the ensuing season (his first with the Thunder), Gilgeous-Alexander thrived as part of an essential three-point guard-set with Chris Paul and Dennis Schroder. Last season he <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/gilgesh01.html">stuffed the stat sheet</a> like nobody’s business, averaging 23.7 points, 5.9 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game while shooting 41.8 percent from beyond the arc.</p><p>Gilgeous-Alexander is an all-around player. He gets the ducks in a row, gets to the rack and scores with ease, hits the boards, is an efficient shooter and is a considerable floor general. This isn’t someone you trade for payroll purposes; this is someone you build around.</p><p>The reported trade proposal that Thunder general manager Sam Presti made the Detroit Pistons for the number one pick in the 2021 NBA Draft would be to take Oklahoma State’s Cade Cunningham.</p><p>One could argue that Gilgeous-Alexander is an established version of Cunningham, as they’re each tall ball-handlers who impact the game in a multitude of ways. That said, there’s zero guarantee that Cunningham pans out in the pros or becomes what Gilgeous-Alexander has <a href="https://twitter.com/Ballislife/status/1419976553946128403">grown into</a>, that being a budding star.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s game is so smooth 👀</p><p> <a href="https://t.co/AenvLJecKU" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/AenvLJecKU</a></p><p>— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ballislife/status/1419976553946128403?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">July 27, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Couple in the fact that they’d be moving the sixth pick in the draft, and this would be a terrible trade for the Thunder from a value standpoint alone. The mere fact that they made this proposal, though, shows that Gilgeous-Alexander could indeed be had. Why else would they offer up one of the best young guards in the NBA for a rookie, no matter how talented and impactful Cunningham may be at the next level?</p><p>Now, there’s the injury element with Gilgeous-Alexander, as his 2020-21 campaign ended in March due to a foot injury. Perhaps the Thunder have pause about committing a max contract to him (he can be a restricted free agent next summer)?</p><p>Presti and the Thunder are drowned with praise for their absurd collection of draft picks, as they have 18 first-round selections over the next six drafts. Meanwhile, they have roughly $40 million in cap space at their disposal this offseason. All that flexibility is fun and all, but it has to lead to players they can build around, which is why trading up at some point in this draft makes sense for the Thunder (they have three first-round selections). But again: moving Gilgeous-Alexander is not the way to go about this.</p><p>Sure, head coach Mark Daigneault has a group of talented, young players who have shown some promise like Luguentz Dort, Darius Bazley, Theo Maledon and Aleksej Pokusevski. At the same time, Gilgeous-Alexander is the lone player on a team playing in a ruthless Western Conference that has shown the ability to be a franchise player. Why would Daigneault want the driving force of his offense to be removed from the rotation?</p><p>Rather than move him for three first-rounders or to move up in the upcoming draft, how about the Thunder extend Gilgeous-Alexander and use some of their assets to trade for a difference-maker in his prime like Karl-Anthony Towns or Myles Turner? They could make a move for one of the two big men and still have the ammunition to pull off another significant trade. It’s time for the Thunder to begin turning these assets into players who can make them, at the very least, a playoff contender shortly.</p><p>Every NBA Draft has young guards who can score and facilitate. It’s a league stockpiled with high-octane guards, but the Thunder genuinely hit it big by getting Gilgeous-Alexander as part of their return from the Clippers for Paul George in 2019. Why run the risk of missing on a young guard?</p><p>Gilgeous-Alexander does it all, has found success in numerous situations and is Oklahoma City’s identity. Moving him further procrastinates the Thunder from getting on a winning path.</p><p>The best is yet to come for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Oklahoma City trading the University of Kentucky product would be flat-out reckless.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder trading Shai Gilgeous-Alexander would be reckless

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/thunder-rumors-okcs-shocking-shai-gilgeous-alexander-trade-offer-to-pistons-for-no-1-pick_copy.jpg"></figure><h1>Rumor: Thunder’s shocking Shai Gilgeous-Alexander trade offer to Pistons for No. 1 pick</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-07-27T05:41:03-07:00">July 27th, 5:41am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-07-27T05:42:47-07:00">July 27th, 5:42am</time><address><a>Jason Patt</a>Jason Patt has been an editor at ClutchPoints since 2018. He also covers the Bulls for Forbes and SB Nation's Blog a Bull. In addition, he co-hosts Cash Considerations: A Chicago Bulls Podcast for the Blue Wire Network. If you couldn't tell, he's from Chicago.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Oklahoma City Thunder are armed with three first-round picks in the 2021 NBA Draft and a bunch of other assets, and they seem determined to move up. That includes attempting to move up to the No. 1 pick in order to draft Cade Cunningham, with guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander apparently being dangled in an offer to the Detroit Pistons</p><p><a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/qa-2021-nba-draft-intel-with-lead-draft-analyst-matt-babcock-rumors-offseason" rel="noopener">There was some speculation going around Monday</a> that the Thunder had offered the young star and the No. 6 pick to the Pistons for No. 1, and that it was denied. <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2946416-latest-trade-buzz-on-ben-simmons-bradley-beal-andshai-gilgeous-alexander" rel="noopener">Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer</a> is now confirming this framework:</p><blockquote>Flashing forward to this summer, where Oklahoma City proactively called Detroit to offer Gilgeous-Alexander plus the No. 6 pick for No. 1, sources said, in an attempt to land Cade Cunningham—the framework <a href="https://twitter.com/NBADraftWass/status/1419750253981577226?s=20" rel="noopener noreferrer">B/R’s Jonathan Wasserman</a> first alluded to on Monday. Since drawing the top selection in June, Detroit has consistently messaged to rival teams it would need a first in this year’s draft, future draft ammo and an established young star.</blockquote><p>The Pistons <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pistons-rumors-detroit-being-shady-with-no-1-pick-days-before-2021-nba-draft/" rel="noopener">are reportedly still considering</a> what to do with the top pick, with Cunningham, Jalen Green and Evan Mobley the three options. The assumption is that Cunningham will be the pick, and Detroit could be leaking interest in all three players in order to create leverage and try to improve trade offers.</p><p>As for the Thunder, Fischer is reporting that people around the NBA think SGA could be available in deals outside of this effort for the No. 1 pick, which would be a significant development. It would obviously take a lot to get him after a strong 2020-21 season.</p><p>Gilgeous-Alexander is still just 23 years old, and he averaged 23.7 points, 5.9 assists and 4.7 rebounds while shooting 50.8% from the field and 41.8% from 3-point range in 2020-21. The young Thunder guard is eligible for a five-year extension worth close to $170 million this offseason.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rumor: Thunder’s shocking Shai Gilgeous-Alexander trade offer to Pistons for No. 1 pick

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/image_2021-06-27_011113.png"></figure><h1>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander trade speculation drives Thunder Twitter absolutely nuts</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-06-26T10:53:38-07:00">June 26th, 10:53am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-06-26T11:05:46-07:00">June 26th, 11:05am</time><address><a href="https://medium.com/@rpsalao">R.P. Salao</a>Check out my best stuff on Medium - medium.com/@rpsalao.I also post quality NBA YouTube content - tinyurl.com/SalaoYouTube.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Oklahoma City Thunder have set themselves up for the future with a ton of draft capital. But the lottery gods didn’t smile upon them on the NBA Draft Lottery night, as they wound up with just one lottery pick, the 6th overall selection in the upcoming draft.</p><p>This has sparked some discussions on how it all affects the Thunder’s plans going forward. On Brian Windhorst’s The Hoop Collective podcast, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps <a href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vRVNQNDAzMzI5NjM5Nw/episode/YWY0ZmNkYjItMGYwNy0xMWViLThkY2ItYWJhMWE1NDk0NWU0?hl=en-PH&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjD3bmn67XxAhUGGKYKHYgrAOkQieUEegQIAhAF&amp;ep=6">made the case</a> for why OKC might consider moving their prized guard – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.</p><blockquote>“I’m going to watch the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander situation. All their guys are basically 18 years old and then they’ve got Shai, and now they’ve traded for Kemba Walker, they’re clearly still in asset accumulation mode. All their guys are super young. This team doesn’t look like it’s going to be ready to be competitive in the near term.”</blockquote><p>While the insiders seemed to just be talking out of pocket and there’s no legitimate trade buzz surrounding the Thunder star, that didn’t stop fans and Thunder reporters alike from dusting off their virtual pitchforks and voicing their gripes online.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a player you rebuild your franchise around. He isn’t a player you trade away for a draft pick so that if you’re lucky you can hopefully draft a player like… Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.</p><p>— Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrandonRahbar/status/1408484170058317827?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">June 25, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">THERE IS NO SHAI TRADE RUMOR</p><p>IT IS SPECULATION BETWEEN TWO DUDES ON A PODCAST</p><p>PLEASE LOG OFF AND TOUCH GRASS</p><p>— David Brandon (@birdrightsnba) <a href="https://twitter.com/birdrightsnba/status/1408481800729604101?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">June 25, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Bro if the Thunder trade fucking Shai lmfao <a href="https://t.co/P3PuKGj39O" target="_blank">https://t.co/P3PuKGj39O</a></p><p>— Trae Young Stan Account (@BALLSOHARD_Josh) <a href="https://twitter.com/BALLSOHARD_Josh/status/1408482871459909636?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">June 25, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">I’m not sure exactly where all the Shai trade rumors are coming from, but he’s not getting traded. He fits the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Thunder?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">#Thunder</a> timeline perfectly, and should be (and is) the franchise cornerstone <a href="https://t.co/Nf0KQ79gA0" target="_blank">https://t.co/Nf0KQ79gA0</a></p><p>— The Bench Mob Blog (@thebenchmobblog) <a href="https://twitter.com/thebenchmobblog/status/1408524422999379970?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">June 25, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">My god. If they trade shai I'm going to be devastated, like i could see them not thinking he's like a #1 guy or whatever but damn. Even if we got cade i Think I'd still be sad we lost shai.</p><p>— Kaleb (@kj9448) <a href="https://twitter.com/kj9448/status/1408479254740967432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">June 25, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">If OKC trades Shai, they should immediately have the franchise stripped from them. He IS the timeline in OKC.</p><p>— Bryson Gordon (@BrysonGordon) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrysonGordon/status/1408487318894395399?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">June 25, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>SGA is entering his fourth season in the NBA thus far. The Thunder star has been absolutely stellar for OKC, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/stats">putting up</a> 23.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per contest through 35 games last season. Even more impressive was his efficiency, shooting over 50% from the field and north of 40% from the three-point line.</p><p>He’s also just 22 years old. To say that a player that’s just as old as a fresh college graduate might be too old for your timeline seems downright absurd. Add to that the fact that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has already shown flashes of being an All-Star player for the Thunder, and also currently serves as the face of the franchise.</p><p>OKC may have a wealth of draft picks to identify and acquire talent for their future, but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the leader that will bridge their present to that future.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander trade speculation drives Thunder Twitter absolutely nuts

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/x-best-trades-Thunder-can-make-in-the-offseason-to-get-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander-more-help.jpg"></figure><h1>5 best trades Thunder can make in the offseason to help Shai Gilgeous-Alexander</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-06-08T17:35:31-07:00">June 8th, 5:35pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-06-08T17:36:06-07:00">June 8th, 5:36pm</time><address><a>Ben Cooper</a>16-year-old junior in high school with hopes of becoming a sports analyst</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Mini-Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Oklahoma City Thunder are <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/news">in rebuild mode</a> and are coming off a 22-50 season. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been the <a href="https://www.nba.com/thunder/">bright spot</a> on the team.</p><p>SGA is the player the Thunder need to build around. Gilgeous-Alexander was a part of the trade that sent star Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers.</p><p>The Thunder need to prioritize surrounding Gilgeous-Alexander with talent to start to build on the teams future.</p><p>SGA has became a near star player as he averaged 23.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.9 assists while shooting 41.8 percent from three. He is a very efficient offensive player and can play point guard or shooting guard. He is also a solid defender which makes him easier to build around.</p><p>Here are five best trades the Thunder can make in the offseason to get Shai Gilgeous-Alexander more help.</p><h2><b>Thunder trade targets: </b></h2><h2><b>5. Forward Cameron Johnson</b></h2><p>Although the Thunder should look to get Alexander help that doesn’t mean they need to be veterans. Getting young talent like Cameron Johnson would help the team improve and create a young core. Johnson is a decent defender and an above average shooter. He has a ton of room to grow and he could be a great wing alongside the Alexander led team.</p><p>If the Thunder made a move for Johnson it would benefit the future of the franchise.</p><h2><b>4. Center Jaxson Hayes</b></h2><p>Jaxson Hayes is another young player that you could put around Alexander. Hayes averaged 7.5 points per game and 4.3 rebounds while shooting an efficient 62 percent from the field. He would be a solid backup center for the future of  this Thunder team.</p><p>Hayes has some potential to become a starting caliber center in the NBA. Even if he doesn’t hit that level he could be a part of the bench unit for the Thunder for years to come.</p><h2><b>3. Forward/center Chris Boucher</b></h2><p>Chris Boucher had a breakout season this season and would be a great power forward or center on this Thunder team. Boucher averaged a career high 13.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game while shooting 38 percent from 3. He is also a solid rim protector as he had 1.9 blocks per game this season.</p><p>Boucher is a perfect stretch big that can also protect the rim. While he wouldn’t be a top scorer for the team he would provide decent scoring while being a good defender.</p><p>If the Thunder can pull of a trade for Boucher they will be in good shape at the center position.</p><h2><b>2. Guard Colin Sexton</b></h2><p>Colin Sexton is rumored to be dealt by the Cleveland Cavaliers this offseason and he would fit well with the Thunder. Sexton had a great 2020 campaign as he averaged 24.3 points while shooting 37.1 percent from three. He is a great offensive player and a solid defender that would fit well around Alexander.</p><p>Sexton could be the number one or two scoring option for this time and would make a lethal pairing in the backcourt. If the Thunder can pull of a trade for Sexton they won’t regret it.</p><h2><b>1. Guard Caris LeVert</b></h2><p>Another guard that would be good around Alexander is Caris LeVert. LeVert averaged 20.7 points per game along with 4.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists. He also got 1.5 steals per game which shows his defensive play. LeVert could run shooting guard or small forward and would thrive on the Thunder.</p><p>The Indiana Pacers are rumored to start a rebuild so making LeVert to the Thunder would make sense. They have a ton of first round picks and it is time to surround Alexander with talent while also rebuilding.</p><p>Look for the Thunder to be aggressive in the offseason and make trades to get Alexander help.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

5 best trades Thunder can make in the offseason to help Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/thunder-news-shai-gilgeous-alexander-reveals-team-canada-plan-amid-foot-injury-rehab.jpg"></figure><h1>Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander reveals Team Canada plan amid foot injury rehab</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-05-29T20:11:18-07:00">May 29th, 8:11pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-05-29T20:11:18-07:00">May 29th, 8:11pm</time><address><a>Angelo Guinhawa</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is still rehabbing his right foot plantar fasciitis, which is why he made the decision not to play for Team Canada this summer.</p><p>SGA confirmed the heartbreaking decision in an <a href="https://twitter.com/shaiglalex/status/1397957865063714816" rel="noopener">announcement on social media</a>, in which he also thanked Canada for their overwhelming support throughout his career.</p><blockquote>“Thank you — I wouldn’t be where I am today without the Canada Basketball community, which makes it all the more difficult to announce that I am unable to play with the Senior Men’s National Team this summer. I’m continuing to rehab the injury that kept me out the second half of the NBA season,” the Thunder rising star wrote.“The team will have my full support and I look forward to continuing to represent my country in the future.”</blockquote><p>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was having a <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/gilgesh01.html" rel="noopener">spectacular season</a> with the Thunder before the injury last March cut his season short. While he was initially only expected to miss a few games, the severity of his situation was only highlighted when OKC decided to rule him out for the rest of the campaign.</p><p>There were some hopes he will be able to recover in time to join Team Canada in the Olympics should they qualify–the national team still has some qualifying games to play from May to June–however, that doesn’t seem to be the case.</p><p>It’s hard to blame SGA, though. He and the Thunder are likely being cautious given that the young guard has been out for so long.</p><p>As for Team Canada, they won’t be lacking in star power despite the absence of Gilgeous-Alexander. SGA’s Thunder teammate Lu Dort has been chosen to be part of the squad, while the likes of Andrew Wiggins, RJ Barrett, Dillon Brooks, Kelly Olynyk and Tristan Thompson are also <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-news-stephen-curry-2-word-reaction-to-andrew-wiggins-team-canada-plan/" rel="noopener">confirmed</a> to participate.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander reveals Team Canada plan amid foot injury rehab

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/The-real-reason-SGA-injury-recovery-is-progressing-slowly.jpg"></figure><h1>The real reason Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s injury recovery is progressing slowly with Thunder</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-05-04T17:09:13-07:00">May 4th, 5:09pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-05-04T17:09:13-07:00">May 4th, 5:09pm</time><address><a>Nicole Ganglani</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was diagnosed with a “significant tear” in his plantar fascia, per <a href="https://twitter.com/joe_mussatto/status/1389709962054623235?s=21">Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman</a>. According to Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault, the injury is not something to mess with. </p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Daigneault: "It's not something that you should really mess around with. If we got aggressive with him, it could compromise him long term, which makes no sense for us for a player that is as important to our franchise as he is."</p><p>— Joe Mussatto (@joe_mussatto) <a href="https://twitter.com/joe_mussatto/status/1389711012153249794?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">May 4, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Daigneault added that if they rush SGA, the current injury could lead to something even worse long term. With that said,  the Thunder are doing their part in getting SGA as healthy as possible–even it means being patient.</p><p>Before getting hurt, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander averaged <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/gilgesh01.html" rel="noopener">23.7 points</a>, 4.7 rebounds and 5.9 assists. The Thunder currently have the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/standings" rel="noopener">third-worst record</a> in the Western Conference. </p><p>If there’s something for Thunder fans to smile about, it’s definitely the growth of SGA this season. He has developed as a scorer and has become a reliable option on offense. NBA Fantasy owners were quite happy to pick him up at first as he delivered remarkable stats. OKC could potentially have a bright future ahead if they continue to build around SGA and his teammates like Lu Dort and Darius Bazley. </p><p>As for SGA, his injury is similar to what Miami Heat guard Goran Dragic experienced in last season’s Finals. However, SGA’s case seems to be a little more worse since it’s diagnosed with a significant tear. There’s still no clear timetable for his recovery, but it seems likely that he’ll be out for the remainder of the season. </p><p>Moreover, the Thunder have a ton of draft picks moving forward. They have a total of 24 draft picks from the 2021 through 2027 drafts. Seventeen of those picks are first-rounders and 17 are second-rounders. </p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

The real reason Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s injury recovery is progressing slowly with Thunder

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/image_2021-05-04_225148.png"></figure><h1>3 reasons Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the best rookie card bet in the NBA</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-05-04T08:00:30-07:00">May 4th, 8:00am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-05-04T08:00:30-07:00">May 4th, 8:00am</time><address><a>Julio Luis Munar</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cards</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Getting into the hobby of collecting NBA cards can really be overwhelming, especially if you have no idea where to start. More often than not, most beginners would focus on the big names, such as LeBron James or Steph Curry. The thing is, you’ll be better off chasing rookies and their stock in the card market. Right now, there’s no better bet out there than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder.</p><h2>SGA Cards – The best rookie card bet in the NBA</h2><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander-Thunder-NBA-Rookie-Cards.jpg"></figure><p>Before entering the NBA, Gilgeous-Alexander played one season with the University of Kentucky Wildcats, where he averaged 18.6 points, 7.1 assists, and 4.1 rebounds per game. During the 2018 Draft, he was chosen by the Charlotte Hornets using the 11th pick then traded to the Los Angeles Clippers right after. Now in his third year in the league, SGA is truly becoming a force to be reckoned with, both on the court and in the card market.</p><p>We take a look down below why <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rookie-card-watch-shai-gilgeous-alexanders-nba-card-value-after-50-games/">Shai Gilgeous-Alexander rookie cards</a> are a sure bet for collectors and investors alike.</p><p> </p><h2><b>(1) SGA’s immense ceiling is undeniable</b></h2><p>During Gilgeous-Alexander’s first year in the NBA, he posted 10.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.2 steals as a Clipper. All things considered, he notched respectable numbers while starting in 73 out of 82 games that season. </p><p>The following year, SGA was traded to the Thunder for Paul George. His partnership with Chris Paul in the backcourt paid dividends in terms of his development. The young star would see his numbers go up to 19 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in 34.7 minutes on the court.</p><p>Gilgeous-Alexander’s third year in the league saw him ascend to near-All-Star status. With Paul and Dennis Schröder playing for different squads, SGA is given the opportunity to lead the Thunder. The young guard rewarded OKC’s trust in him by posting career-highs of 23.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per contest. His 57% success rate from the field, 41% from downtown, and 80% from the charity stripe are evidence enough of his improving efficiency this year.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">87.1% of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s baskets are UNASSISTED.</p><p>That is absolutely ridiculous.<a href="https://t.co/V3ZgkfHC1m" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/V3ZgkfHC1m</a></p><p>— Thunder Film Room (@ThunderFilmRoom) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThunderFilmRoom/status/1384926681400594436?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">April 21, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>SGA’s progression as a rookie, to a sophomore, to the Thunder’s current franchise player signifies an upward trend when it comes to his development. With the help of a few more seasons, he will truly ascend to the high ceiling everyone is projecting him to reach. SGA’s rookie card value is sure to follow.</p><p> </p><h2><b>(2) SGA is the future of the Oklahoma City Thunder</b></h2><p>Last season, Gilgeous-Alexander shared offensive duties with Paul and Schröder as a triumvirate of guards that effectively blitzed their opponents. In fact, this trio broke all expectations of the Thunder last year by leading them straight to the playoffs when everyone projected them to tank. Now, with his former teammates gone, SGA is the undisputed star of Oklahoma City, and his cards can’t go anywhere but up.</p><p> </p><figure class="op-interactive"></figure><p>This notion is clearly backed up by an uptick in his usage rate this year. During the 2019-20 season, SGA enjoyed 23.7% usage rate. Now, that number has gone up to 27.8% Moreover, he is also leading the Thunder in scoring, assists, field goal attempts, and minutes per game.</p><p>With more playing time given to him, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has a lot of room to grow and blossom in OKC. In turn, this will bode well for <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/3-reasons-why-shai-gilgeous-alexander-needs-to-be-your-next-nba-rookie-card-investment/">his stock in the card market</a>.</p><p> </p><h2><b>(3) Shai Gilgeous-Alexander rookie cards are really undervalued right now</b></h2><p>SGA has been out of the lineup since the end of March due to a foot injury. With him out of sight, his demand and value in the card market has dipped. As of now, Gilgeous-Alexander’s PSA 10 base Prizm rookie card is valued at <a href="https://www.ebay.com/itm/233985818439?hash=item367aa43f47:g:R0gAAOSwfHNgiFif">$185</a> on eBay right now. This figure is a far cry from what this card was demanding a day before Gilgeous-Alexander got injured, which was <a href="https://www.ebay.com/itm/203283048194?hash=item2f549d2702:g:0A0AAOSwE4tgLq03">$325</a>.</p><p> </p><figure><img src="https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/0A0AAOSwE4tgLq03/s-l1600.jpg"></figure><p>This is exactly the case with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s rookie and non-rookie cards in the market right now. While some people would think that his value is dropping, the best perspective to have is that they are criminally undervalued right now. Gilgeous-Alexander is a safe player to place your bets on, which can’t be said of most young names in the NBA right now. His affordable prices now can only mean there’s a lot of potential profit to make when he comes back next season and maintain his present numbers.</p><p>If you’re on the lookout for a compelling player to invest in, there won’t be any better option out there than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. SGA’s cards are not as expensive as Luka Doncic or Zion Williamson ones but for the price you can get him for now, the pay-off could be even bigger.. Barring any drastic injury or issue in the future, any investment in SGA is a good bet to hedge on.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

3 reasons Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the best rookie card bet in the NBA

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander-hit-with-concerning-update-on-foot-injury.jpg"></figure><h1>Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hit with concerning update on foot injury</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-04-16T16:44:47-07:00">April 16th, 4:44pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-04-16T16:44:47-07:00">April 16th, 4:44pm</time><address><a>Paolo Songco</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>It has now been nearly a month since fans last saw Shai Gilgeous-Alexander take the floor for the Oklahoma City Thunder. As it appears, however, it looks like SGA will need to spend more time on the sidelines as he slowly recovers from a lingering right foot injury.</p><p>According to Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault, Gilegous-Alexander might <a href="https://twitter.com/BrandonRahbar/status/1383173002137722880" rel="noopener">need more time to recover</a> than initially expected:</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Mark Daigneault says SGA had re-imaging done and is a bit behind where the team hoped.  “He’s definitely progressed but not to the point we’d like.”</p><p>He says he will have images done again in two weeks.</p><p>— Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrandonRahbar/status/1383173002137722880?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">April 16, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>As Daigneault expressed above, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has fallen behind in his recovery timetable. It does not sound like he had suffered a significant setback, but simply put, his injury has not healed as quickly as the team had hoped for initially.</p><p>We’ll now need to wait two more weeks before we get another update on SGA, who has been dealing with plantar fasciitis on his right foot. This type of injury can be particularly challenging, and for the most part, one of the best ways to recover from the same is through extended rest.</p><p>With the season now winding down and with the Thunder having little to no chance of making the playoffs this season, it’s sounding a lot like SGA is now in danger of being shut down for the rest of the campaign.</p><p>OKC will have no motivation to rush their budding star back to its <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/roster" rel="noopener">roster</a>, and even when he becomes healthy enough, odds are that the Thunder will play it safe with the 22-year-old.</p><p>Based on his current timetable, SGA could return for the Thunder’s final few games of the campaign, but right now you can’t help but ask: what would be the point of bringing him back by then?</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hit with concerning update on foot injury

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander-Thunder-NBA-Rookie-Cards.jpg"></figure><h1>Rookie Card Watch: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s NBA card value after 50 games</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-04-13T13:39:41-07:00">April 13th, 1:39pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-04-13T13:39:41-07:00">April 13th, 1:39pm</time><address><a>Paolo Planas</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cards</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Oklahoma City Thunder are currently in a rebuilding stage. Given that, they’ve already handed over the keys in the offense to their budding young star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Card collectors definitely have had their eye on him, but here’s why he deserves more attention even as the Thunder remain near the bottom of the standings.</p><p>Amassing a ginormous stockpile of 19 1st round picks and 16 2nd rounds picks in the next seven years, it’s in Sam Presti’s plans that Gilgeous-Alexander is their main man to build around with all of that in the future. The 22-year-old Ontario native was acquired through the Paul George deal in the summer of 2019, alongside Danilo Gallinari, five 1st round picks, and two pick swaps.</p><p>Mentored under future Hall of Fame lock Chris Paul, Gilgeous-Alexander showed the flashes of a superstar in the making in his 1st year with the Thunder.  Averaging 19.0 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 3.3 assists a contest, in a stacked back-court shared with both Paul and Dennis Schroder. Where the Thunder would eventually reach a playoff berth as the 5th seed in the Western Conference, despite the 0.3% chance ESPN had projected for them at the start of the 2019-20 season.</p><p>With the departure of winning veterans such as Chris Paul, Danilo Gallinari, Dennis Schroder, and Steven Adams leading up to the 2020-21 season, it has been a blessing in disguise for this young Thunder team. Led by Gilgeous-Alexander, the young Thunder have now had a chance to blossom and show off their potential. Emerging prospects such as Darius Bazley and Luguentz Dort, along with rookies Aleksej Pokusevski and Theo Maledon have taken a more active role within the team.</p><p>This season, Gilgeous-Alexander has stepped on the gas pedal significantly. Having averages of 23.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.9 assists a night, he was even in the race for an All-Star spot this year.  He just missed the cut due to record disparity, but the case was definitely there to have him as the injury replacement instead of Utah Jazz veteran Mike Conley Jr.</p><p>With Gilgeous-Alexander tying and surpassing his previous career-high of 32 points last season, on several occasions this year. While also ranking inside the top 25 for both the assists and points category in the league, it should come as no surprise Gilgeous-Alexander will continue to be a problem in the long run for opposing teams.</p><h2>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s recent performance</h2><p>It’s been incredibly tough sledding for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s card collectors as of late. He started the season firing on all cylinders, and only seemed to get better as the months went by. But then, the Thunder star got bit by the injury bug in late March. SGA was out of commission for the long-term, as confirmed by his coach Mark Daigneault.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Thunder G Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to be out for extended period with right foot plantar fasciitis:</p><p>Mark Daigneault: "It's not day-to-day, it's going to be a more significant amount of time…this one is an injury that we need to take a look at" (1) <a href="https://t.co/CoDbPIuLIR" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/CoDbPIuLIR</a></p><p>— Bryan Keating (@KOCOKeating) <a href="https://twitter.com/KOCOKeating/status/1374877318519291904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">March 25, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>With the Thunder having less than zero incentive to rush him, there’s little chance we see SGA play any significant action until late in the season. The good news is, the Thunder may bring him back towards the <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/thunder/news/week-ahead-thunder-get-chance-to-snap-losing-streak">end of the year.</a> If Shai can pump in a few big games and remind the market that he’ll be a fool-proof star in the coming seasons, then a late bump may be coming.</p><p> </p><h2>The card market</h2><p>Don’t let SGA’s injury fool you, Shai’s All-Star performances should reflect on his NBA card value sooner or later, being comparable to other top youngsters such as Ja Morant and Trae Young who have gotten a lot of hobby love, thus far. He is easily one of the most underrated and best investments you could make right now, with him also playing on a team with a bright future like the Thunder.</p><p>In mid March when he was healthy and putting up big numbers, his Prizm Silver RC graded PSA 10 was going for up to $1,700 with nothing below $1,200. Recent sales however have the price range for the same card closer to the $1,100 range.</p><h2>The verdict on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander cards</h2><p>Clearly, the time to buy  Shai Gilgeous-Alexander cards is now, as he’s only getting better and better as time progresses. He’s taken massive leaps every year, and has proven that he could be a potent first option even without Chris Paul and Dennis Schroder by his side.</p><p>The Thunder are as well-positioned as any team in the NBA right now, with more draft picks than they even have roster spots within the next half-decade. But no matter what happens, this team is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s to own. Whoever comes along can become a star just as talented or even greater than SGA, but the heart and soul of the team belongs to its current centerpiece going forward.</p><p>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander card collectors will be the first to tell you – they wouldn’t have it any other way.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rookie Card Watch: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s NBA card value after 50 games

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Thunder-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander-Russell-Westbrook.jpg"></figure><h1>3 things Shai Gilgeous-Alexander needs to do to surpass Russell Westbrook in Thunder history</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-04-01T13:18:47-07:00">April 1st, 1:18pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-04-01T13:19:21-07:00">April 1st, 1:19pm</time><address><a>Bryce Hendricks</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">Mini-Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has become one of the preeminent rising stars of the NBA. He is one of the frontrunners for the Most Improved Player of the Year award this year. He plays incredibly under control and is a surgical operator of the pick and roll.  This is a stark contrast to the last great Thunder player, Russell Westbrook. Westbrook was known for his erratic style of play and off-the-charts athleticism, a far cry from the patience and smoothness of Shai.</p><p>These two contrasting players could be the two top talents mentioned when discussing the best Oklahoma City <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/records">Thunder players of all time</a>. However, the question remains, what can Shai Gilgeous-Alexander do to join that conversation? Can he pass Russell Westbrook for the greatest Thunder of all time? There are three things the 22-year old Gilgeous-Alexander can do to surpass Westbrook.</p><h2>1) Remain Efficient</h2><p>Efficiency was one of the major gripes Russell Westbrook faced his entire career. Westbrook has never once had a true shooting percentage above 56% and he’s only had one year where his true shooting even reached average. His shooting was never a strength but he never stopped taking jumpers. He loved to get into his mid-range pull-up despite it never being an efficient shot. He was an elite driver, but he never leveraged that to the fullest extent.</p><p>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/gilgesh01.html">has a true shooting percentage of 62.3%</a> in only his third season. Efficiency is usually a sign of scalability and being scalable is one of Shai’s most useful traits. SGA is an elite finisher despite being nowhere near the athlete Westbrook is and his jumper is already better than Russell’s.</p><p>The two players’ contrasting style is likely what leads to the difference in efficiency. Westbrook played at 100 miles an hour every second on the court and that leads to erratic shooting at times. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the type to take his time and continue probing until he finds the best shot. If the Canadian can remain efficient, it will be an important feather in his cap.</p><h2>2) Continue to Improve</h2><p>Russell Westbrook started off his career playing second fiddle to Kevin Durant. He was known as a tenacious defender and athletic slasher early in his career. As his career continued, he became more and more comfortable as a true point guard and a star player.</p><p>Shai has already become comfortable as a true point guard, but that doesn’t mean he can stagnate as a player. The 22-year old still has some work to do to become a better playmaker for others, a deadlier shooter off the bounce, and a better on-ball defender. If Gilgeous-Alexander can continue to grow in these areas, he can continue to make a case as the best Thunder of all time.</p><p>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is still yet to make an All-Star game, much less win an MVP like Russell Westbrook, but there is still plenty of time for him to do this. He will have to prove himself as a top point guard in the NBA.</p><h2>3) Win a Ring</h2><p>The ring conversation can be trite and wrought with logical fallacies, but it does make sense here. Russell Westbrook, for all of his elite talent and accolades, was never able to take a team all the way. Even in his MVP season, the Thunder were only a six seed in the Western Conference. The closest Westbrook ever got was a loss to the Heat in the 2012 NBA Finals, where he was still second fiddle to Kevin Durant.</p><p>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander may not be the best player on a championship team, but perhaps he can be the Kyle Lowry to the next Kawhi Leonard. Maybe he can be the best player on a championship team and his proficiency on offense will allow for an elite team to be built around him. Either way, a ring would go a long way to making Gilgeous-Alexander the greatest Oklahoma City Thunder of all time.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

3 things Shai Gilgeous-Alexander needs to do to surpass Russell Westbrook in Thunder history

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander-needs-Lu-Dort_s-hand-while-getting-COVID-19-vaccine-shot.jpg"></figure><h1>Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander needs Lu Dort’s hand while getting COVID-19 vaccine shot</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-03-30T19:33:46-07:00">March 30th, 7:33pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-03-30T19:33:46-07:00">March 30th, 7:33pm</time><address><a>Virgil Villanueva</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder" rel="noopener">Oklahoma City Thunder</a> guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wasn’t too comfortable in getting the COVID-19 vaccine shot. Fortunately, his teammate Lu Dort was there to offer a helping hand quite literally.</p><p>The vaccine is now available to everyone in Oklahoma City aged 16 years and above. With this, the Thunder have made steps to inoculate their players. Understandably, not everyone is comfortable around needles like Gilgeous-Alexander.</p><p>Good thing that Dort <a href="https://twitter.com/DimeUPROXX/status/1377058572870287360" rel="noopener">stood</a> right beside his friend and Thunder teammate to alleviate some of the fear.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Find yourself a friend like Lu Dort. Helping out SGA while he gets the COVID vaccine 🙏</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/okcthunder?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@okcthunder</a>) <a href="https://t.co/BJ5fhE1qeL" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/BJ5fhE1qeL</a></p><p>— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) <a href="https://twitter.com/DimeUPROXX/status/1377058572870287360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">March 31, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Things are slowly getting back to normal in the NBA. Aside from the Thunder, other teams have been inoculating their players together with the city. Soon, fans will probably be allowed back into the arena.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Another step in the right direction.</p><p>COVID-19 vaccines are now available to 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘𝐎𝐍𝐄 16 years and older in OK, and today <a href="https://twitter.com/OUHealth?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@OUHealth</a> began distribution to our team!</p><p>Keep yourself and your team safe.<br>Info and appts 🔗 | <a href="https://t.co/iwslKzCxiU" target="_blank">https://t.co/iwslKzCxiU</a> <a href="https://t.co/aEqK1HSMfs" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/aEqK1HSMfs</a></p><p>— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) <a href="https://twitter.com/okcthunder/status/1377015737735319560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">March 30, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>The NBA does not require all of its players, staff, and personnel to get vaccinated. However, league commissioner Adam Silver believes that a good amount will opt to get the vaccine.</p><blockquote>“My hunch is that most players ultimately will choose to get vaccinated. They have to make personal decisions at the end of the day — and I take that very seriously, and I take concerns very seriously. But my sense is most [players] will, ultimately, decide it is in their interest to get vaccinated,” Silver said during his All-Star Weekend virtual news conference from Atlanta, per <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/31017523/nba-commissioner-adam-silver-says-most-players-get-covid-19-vaccine-required-do-so">Tim Bontemps of ESPN</a>.</blockquote><p>The league also announced added benefits for teams who have been vaccinated. The changes in the health and safety protocols, as summarized below, will apply to any person who is “two weeks past their final dose and any team where 85 percent of players and 85 percent of staff are fully vaccinated.</p><p>Thankfully, the Thunder will be able to benefit from the changes in the health and safety protocols after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Co. got their vaccine shots.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Here’s the infographic distributed to NBA teams that details the eased restrictions for vaccinated individuals and vaccinated teams:  <a href="https://t.co/uSuMVkP4cR" target="_blank">https://t.co/uSuMVkP4cR</a> <a href="https://t.co/7uOY4ugjUg" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/7uOY4ugjUg</a></p><p>— Baxter Holmes (@Baxter) <a href="https://twitter.com/Baxter/status/1372554909858459654?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">March 18, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2021-22 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
20.0	4.7	4.0	0.3	0.3

2021-22 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
20.0	4.7	4.0	0.3	0.3

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander news

Shai
Gilgeous-Alexander news