Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - Fantastic Finisher 19/20

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Shai made THE LEAP from year 1 to year 2.
His rookie year stats: 10.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.4 free throw attempts per game. His shooting splits: 47.6% from the field (8.7 attempts per game) 36.7% from deep (1.7 3 point attempts per game), 80.0% from the line.
His numbers from this season: 19.0 points, 5.9 rebounds, 5.1 free throw attempts per game. His shooting splits: 47.1% (14.5 attempts per game), 34.7% from deep (3.6 3 point attempts per game), 80.7% from the line.
Shai basically doubled everything up while remaining just as efficient numbers wise (slight dip in the 3 point shooting, but that’s to be expected). A long and lanky hybrid guard that has so much upside had his growth accelerated in a major way by having the Point God Chris Paul in his ear likely every possession of every practice and every play ever. The scary thing? He’s got so much more room to grow.

SGA is making solid reads as a passer, like he did in his first year, but his evolution as a play-at-his-own-pace-no-matter-who-is-in-his-face playmaker is pretty special. He wisely uses his long strides and unconventional finishes to make things happen that defenses could not have seen coming. Gilgeous-Alexander has a gorgeous series of fakes, pivots, and stepthroughs at his disposal. He’s shifty, sneaky, and strong enough that when he sees a seam, no matter how small, he’ll steer every body part every which way to get through. Ambidextrous finisher. Plus, counters on counters on counters.

Coach David Thorpe said it best when he was on the Lowe Post podcast discussing Most Improved Player candidates: “He’s one of those rare guys who makes the jump … when you go from good rookie to freakin’ amazing second-year player, that just doesn’t happen very much” 

I wrote in my first SGA video that the likes of Luka Doncic (generational talent) and Trae Young (future multiple time all-star, especially in the East) would dominate the headlines for this draft class, especially early on, but SGA has the chance to be truly special in his own right. I am not outright comparing the futures of Doncic, Trae, and SGA to LeBron, Wade, and Melo/Bosh, but Gilgeous-Alexander has all the tools necessary to make it a conversation as to who ends up with the best career from the 2018 NBA Draft after Doncic.

*All highlights are obviously pre-Bubble (someone let me know, is it capital B bubble?)

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