Through eight weeks of action, the Oklahoma City Thunder are 20-5. After coming off an undefeated and dominant week, last week. This week, the Thunder had two impressive statement wins in the NBA Cup — Quarterfinals and Semifinals. The Thunder defeated Dallas at home on Tuesday night to advance to the NBA Cup Semifinals in Vegas. The Thunder would then go on and take care of business with an impressive victory in a defensive rock fight against Houston on Saturday night to advance to the NBA Cup Finals.
The Thunder continue to show that they can win in a multitude of ways as they continue to rack up victories despite dealing with a good amount of adversity, during the first quarter of their season.
Here’s my Week 8 — Thunder Player of the Week:
OKC Player of the Week
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder (2-0) to two big victories on the national stage in Week 8 with two statement performances. SGA averaged 35.5 points, 8 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 4 steals, 1 block while shooting 52.2 percent from the floor, 46.6 percent from beyond the arc, and 94.7 percent from the free throw line.
Against Dallas on Tuesday, SGA made an MVP statement as he shined putting up a stat line of: 39 points, eight rebounds, five assists, three steals, and a block, on 15-of-23 shooting from the floor, 5-of-9 from beyond the arc, and 4-0f-4 from the free throw line, while being a game-high +22 in the plus-minus category, in a game that was clearly more than a regular game, even without factoring in the NBA Cup.
Against Houston on Saturday, the Thunder avenged their most recent loss. After really struggling in the 1st half, SGA bounced back and put on a signature 2nd half performance, putting up a stat line of: 32 points, eight rebounds, six assists, five steals, and a block, while being a +15 in the plus-minus category, in a rugged defensive game.
SGA’s NBA Cup Play
In six NBA Cup games, SGA is averaging 32.2 points, 6.5 assists, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.7 steals per game. The Thunder are one win away from being NBA Cup Champions. SGA is the current favorite for being the Cup MVP.
His Historic Play
https://shotcreator.com/player/nba/JOaKQWLSBJy
The level of efficiency and consistency that SGA continues to operate at for the Thunder should not be taken for granted.
SGA has recorded 15 straight games scoring 25+ points which is the longest current streak in the NBA. In his last 15 games, since Holmgren’s injury, SGA has performed at an MVP level — averaging 33 points, 6.3 assists, 5.2 rebounds, 2.2 steals, and 1 block, while shooting 52.2 percent from the floor, 37.8 percent from beyond the arc, 85.1 percent from the free throw line, and having a plus-minus of +187.
SGA continues to be the model of consistency as he has the most 30 + point games since the since of the 2022-23 season: 109 games out of 168 total played (64.8% of the time).
SGA is playing at an MVP level for the third straight season, averaging 30.3 points, 6.3 assists, 5.5 rebounds, 1.9 steals, and 1 block per game, with 51/34/86 shooting splits. Something that’s not receiving enough recognition and credit is, despite dealing with an array of injuries to key players, SGA has held down the fort and still has OKC as the No.1 seed in the West and tied for the second-best record in the NBA.
Mark Daigneault on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Here’s a quote dating back a couple of years from Mark Daigneault that has stuck with me on the unselfishness of SGA that has been a huge staple of the current culture and freedom that the Thunder plays with due to the leadership of SGA.
“His talent speaks for itself and the way he’s playing speaks for itself … but the invisible stuff that he does for the team, is what’s most impressive about him. Finding his teammates, trusting his teammates in critical situations, no matter how much he has it going. Getting teammates open shot, made that play all season. Instilling confidence into his teammates. You can’t put a price on that. That’s the stuff that is most impressive about him” — Mark Daigneault.
Takeaways
With eight weeks of the season completed, the Thunder have a record of 20-5. 1st in the West. The Thunder had a very impressive week. OKC took care of business this week, going 2-0. With victories over the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets.
Wins: vs Dallas (118 to 104), vs Houston (111 to 96) in Vegas
Note: The Thunder advance in NBA Cup play — with wins over Dallas and Houston.
The Thunder faces the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Cup Finals on Tuesday night at 7:30 PM CT on ABC.
Main Image: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
