Oklahoma City Thunder second-year guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander torched the Toronto Raptors on Sunday, matching a career-high 32 points (12-of-21 from the field, 3-of-5 from 3) while also notching seven rebounds, two assists, and three steals in 39 minutes of action.
Following his team's razor-thin 98-97 victory against the defending champs, Gilgeous-Alexander was presented with a pretty random statistical milestone which he achieved following his outburst against the Raptors:
Fun fact: SGA’s 32 points were the most scored by a Canadian in a game against the Raptors, according to the team.
— Maddie Lee (@maddie_m_lee) December 30, 2019
For the record, the 21-year-old was actually born in Toronto in 1998.
When asked about what he thought of this stat, the 6-foot-5 guard's reaction was one that you would expect from a player who was presented with a very random (and bordering on insignificant) stat after playing the best game of his young NBA career:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s reaction to that stat: “I did not know that. It’s cool though.” (That’s it. That’s the whole quote.) pic.twitter.com/CwRZK0DLY5
— Maddie Lee (@maddie_m_lee) December 30, 2019
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been nothing short of outstanding this season for the Thunder following an offseason trade from the Los Angeles Clippers. SGA was actually part of the Paul George trade, and he has turned out to be one of the most significant assets acquired by the Thunder in said transaction.
The former Kentucky standout is currently averaging 19.8 points (on 45.6 percent shooting), 5.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.2 steals while also connecting on 1.3 3-pointers per ballgame on a 36.4 percent clip. He's on a six-game streak of reaching 20 points, with three of those games featuring 32-point outings. The 21-year-old is putting up 21.7 points per game in December.
SGA has helped his team to a 17-15 record, which is currently good for seventh place in the Western Conference. The Thunder are playing beyond expectations so far after they traded away George and Russell Westbrook in the offseason, and it is without question that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been a pivotal piece in the team's success thus far. OKC looks like a surefire playoff team.
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