ALL-STAR CASE
Does Shai Gilgeous-Alexander deserve NBA All-Star consideration?
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will not be among the names revealed when starters for the NBA All-Star Game are announced Thursday night on TNT.
That's no surprise. There are only two starting guard spots available in the West, and it's a threeman competition between Stephen Curry, Dam ian Lilla rd and Luka Doncic. Curry is a virtual lock to start, but Lillard vs. Doncic is a toss-up.
Fans account for 50% of the starters vote, while players and media both account for 25%.
All- Star reserves, however, are selected by NBA head coaches. They can't vote for their own players, but coaches will select two guards, three front court players and two wild cards from their respective conference to fill out the bench.
The All-Star reserves will be announced Tuesday night on TNT, and t hat's when Gilgeous- Alexander could hear his name called. He has long-shot odds, but the 22-year-old Thunder point guard at least belongs in the conversation.
“He certainly looks like an All- Star,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “I'm not scanning the league and I'm not counting roster spots or anything like that, but all I know is I coach the Thunder, and on a lot of nights when I walk off the floor I felt like we had the best player on the court.”
In his first season as the No .1 option, Gil geo usAlexander is averaging 22.6 points, 6.5 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game while shooting 51% from the field and 38% from 3-point range. Except for rebounds, all of t hose numbers are career highs.
“He's had an unbelievable jump this season ,” Daigneault said. “He's taken on a completely new role and he's never been more efficient, makes everybody else better and some of the success we've had as a team has a lot to do with him. That's the best I can say for that.”
Gil geo us-Alexander is one of five players averaging at least 22 points, six assists and five rebounds. LeBron James, Nikola Jokic, James Harden and Doncic are the others. Gilgeous-Alexander has the second-best field goal percentage in that group behind Jokic (57%), a do-itall center.
In the West,
Gilgeous-Alexander ranks 10 thin assists, 14th in points and 19th in ESPN's player efficiency rating.
Gilgeous-Alexander is on pace to become the fourth third-year player in the last two decades to average 22 points on better than 50% shooting. The other three were big men: Anthony Davis (2014-15), Chris Bosh ( 2005- 06) and Amar'e Stoudemire ( 2004- 05) — all of which were AllStars in those seasons.
That stats peaks to Gilgeous-Alexander's mastery around the rim.
Gilgeous-Alexander leads the NBA in drives per game (24.5). Doncic (23.7) is second and Trae Young (20) is third. Gil geo us-Alexander is scoring 13 points per game off drives — second behind Doncic — and SGA is shooting 55% on those drives. He passes on almost half of his drives, which results in 2.2 of his assists per game.
But there are also a few holes in Gilgeous-Alexander' s All-Star resume.
First, the Thunder entered Wednesday night 14th in the West and it's hard to make an AllStar game on a bad team ( unless you're Bradley Be al, who' s comfortably leading the league in scoring).
Gilgeous-Alexander will be competing for a Western Conference guard spot against one of either Lillard or Doncic, along with the likes of Donovan Mitchell, Mike Conley, Chris Paul, Devin Booker, De'Aaron Fox and DeMar DeRozan — all of whom are on better teams, though not by a wide margin in some cases.
Gilgeous-Alexander has played the few est games (22) of any of those players, which is another strike against him. Before returning Wednesday, he had missed six of the Thunder' s last eight games due to a left knee sprain. That's 22% of the season so far.
A lack of exposure also hurts his case. The OKC Thunder trails the OKC Blue in nationally televised games.
Gilgeous-Alexander is on an All-Star trajectory — with significant gains in each of his first three seasons — but he's unlikely to earn the nod this time around.
“I think he has a strong case ,” said Thunder center Al Horford, a fivetime All-Star. “What he's done with our team, leading us, scoring the ball, passing the ball, he' s playing on the defensive end. He's doing a little bit of everything, and he's doing it at a very high level.”