Not only has Shai Gilgeous-Alexander emerged as one of the top scorers in the NBA this season with a career-high 30.7 points per game, but he's also become of the league's top playmakers. Now it appears as if that playmaking mentality has spread to the rest of the team. On Wednesday in a win against the Indiana Pacers, the Oklahoma City Thunder as a team dished out 40 assists. That number tied a franchise record that goes back to the Russell Westbrook era for most assists in a game as per Brandon Rahbar of The Daily Thunder.
OKC tied a Thunder record tonight with 40 assists…
…as the youngest team in the NBA.
— Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) January 19, 2023
Against the Pacers, it actually was not Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who led the team in assists. He finished with six which tied him with rookie Jalen Williams for third on the team. It was Josh Giddey who led the team with 11 assists. Surprisingly it was fifth-year wing Kenrich Williams who was second on the team with ten assists.
The last time the Thunder dropped 40 assists in a game was back on April 10, 2019 against the Milwaukee Bucks. Russell Westbrook, one of the NBA's top playmakers in his own right, had 17 assists in that game. Westbrook's career-high in assists is 24 which he has dished out twic, once with the Thunder and the second time with the Washington Wizards. In comparison, Gilgeous-Alexander's career-high in assists is 14 which he dished out last season.
As a team, the Thunder are averaging 24.3 assists per game. In comparison, the Thunder team with Westbrook that initially set the record was averaging 23.4 assists per game.
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