ESPN’s Top 100 NBA player rankers thinks the Oklahoma City Thunder made a good bet with its guard of the future.
In this year’s rankings, which are being released throughout the week, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was listed as the No. 38 player for the upcoming season. He’s in good company with other emerging guards.
Gilgeous-Alexander is one spot ahead of Indiana Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon, who was a borderline All-Star last season, and two ahead of Fred VanVleet, who signed a four-year, $85 million contract with the Toronto Raptors this offseason.
In the blurb explaining Gilgeous-Alexander’s placement, ESPN’s Royce Young wrote:
“Gilgeous-Alexander was the leading scorer on the 5-seed in the West, building on his promising rookie season with the Clippers. He got better as a shooter, working out a quicker off-dribble release. He slashed, played off-ball and improved defensively. He has the keys to the car.”
Last season, his first on the Thunder, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged a team-high 19 points to go with 5.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game while sharing ball handling duties with Chris Paul and Dennis Schroder.
He showed enough promise that Oklahoma City tore down this offseason with the intention of building back up around him.
The primary playmaker and scorer for a Thunder team that will have to rely on him to win games this season, Gilgeous-Alexander will be thrust into the driver’s seat and will have to prove he can handle the vehicle. Young wrote:
“How does Gilgeous-Alexander handle the responsibility of producing nightly and the frustrations and failures that come with it?”