The 2023-24 NBA season capped off with the Boston Celtics capturing their 18th championship. Now that the season is officially over, HoopsHype elected to rank the top 100 players in the league this past season.
The Oklahoma City Thunder had four entrants among the 100 players. This shouldn’t be a shocker as they were one of the best teams in this league this past season.
OKC made history as the youngest first seed ever and made it to the second round. It lost to the Dallas Mavericks, who eventually went to the NBA Finals, in a close second-round series.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was listed as the third-best player this past season. He finished behind Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic. This is a surprising result considering the 25-year-old was the MVP runner-up.
HoopsHype wrote that Gilgeous-Alexander established himself as one of the best players this season. He had back-to-back All-NBA First Team honors now.
“As Shai Gilgeous-Alexander developed as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder, many wondered just how high his ceiling might be and whether or not he could reach that MVP-level strata of NBA greats. The Canadian superstar answered those questions resoundingly this year, finishing second in the 2023-24 MVP vote, even receiving 15 first-place votes in the process, as he led the Thunder to the No. 1 seed in the West with a 57-25 record and to the second round of the playoffs. The former Kentucky standout ranked Top 5 this season in VORP, BPM, WS/48 and Global Rating, finishing as high as No. 2 overall in WS/48.”
The Thunder are set for the future. This was their first of likely many playoff runs headlined by Gilgeous-Alexander. He’s in his prime and will be one of the best players for the foreseeable future.
“There’s no question they’re way ahead of schedule and should be a force in the West for years to come.
Sure, that has been said about teams before who ultimately weren’t able to take that next step, but with Gilgeous-Alexander, a proven MVP-level player, leading the way, this Thunder team should be different than the promising teams of yesteryear.”
The Thunder smashed open a championship window this past season and Gilgeous-Alexander’s improbable ascension is the main reason.
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