- I planted ours Shai> Jokian flag (in the purest sense) solid a while back. And we just dropped an SGA Love Fest podcast episode. But our hyperbole has yet to catch up with how big Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is becoming right before our eyes. Shai, like every other season of his career, has reached the next level. He just dropped a statement game for the ages, going 11-12 from the line (more on that later) and almost matching that percentage from the floorwhere he was 10-12. He attempted a total of 38 points (two three-pointers, eight twos and twelve free throw attempts) and converted 33 of those potential points. And he did it all in just – you guessed it – three-quarter playing time.
- MVP.
- I am a fan of the Prime broadcast and always enjoy the energy that comes with a nationally televised Thunder game. But the game itself was never really a competition. OKC led just 46-42 with four minutes left before halftime but, to no one’s surprise, ran up the score to take a commanding 63-48 lead at the break.
- That run was the first of Shai’s scoring bonanza bookends to the decisive, unstoppable part of the game that imposed the Thunder on the overmatched Mavs.
- Blake Griffin declared Oklahoma City “THE best team in basketball, by farat halftime. I see a lot of national media starting to deliver the memo about OKC’s greatness this season.
- The other two of the Big Three had a hand in slamming the door on the Mavericks as the second half unfolded. Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren scored or assisted on 12 consecutive points as the Thunder extended their lead to 84-55 midway through the third.
- The standout shot of that run was an SGA dagger thanks to a Chet assist, as Holmgren effectively threw the SGA lighter to torch Dallas. Shai flooded Dallas for 16 points and 3 assists in that span. His last field goal was a crude bank shot taken after stepping over Jaden Hardy’s corpse.
- JDub’s shot still comes by, but he uses his full ferocity on defense and in transition. However, I still don’t like seeing him wince at his surgically repaired wrist.
- Jaylin Williams got the start and, with some help from the elite Thunder (especially Chet), worked to completely shut down Anthony Davis on defense. AD didn’t score until the fourth and finished with just 2 points on 1-of-9 shooting.
- Davis’ career has taken a difficult turn. He’s on the wrong side of what’s already known as the worst trade ever, and he clearly can’t stay healthy. He once shot a gun because he was going downstairs the most blatant trade question everBut maybe he’s comfortable with the shame.
- Add the fading Klay Thompson to the bad watch list. With Chris Paul dumped and LeBron James squeaking, a long era of superstardom comes to an end this season.
- Cooper Flagg is the real deal. When I look at players like Flagg, I get disgustingly greedy for that Clippers pick. Please keep imploding, LA,
- Ryan Nembhard actually exists. I’m here for Nembsanity.
- Ousmane Dieng had a solid run in the second quarter: a smooth one step back threea trip to the charity stripe and a screen Free Cason Wallace for a wide open a three. Whether or not he sticks with a Thunder roster, he’s committed to it just like every other psychopath in the rotation.
- As Dieng is ever earns a real spot, this window without Isaiah Hartenstein could be his last, best chance to prove he can complement the front. I’m a recovering Bazley Believer, but Dieng is flashes showing his size and skills.
- While I appreciate what the Prime broadcast is going for, I don’t find Udonis Haslem’s career half as interesting as he does.
One important takeaway
A key part of Shai’s elite scoring package is his free throws. It’s okay for other teams and fan bases to get frustrated when SGA makes mistakes. You’d also be annoyed if you repeatedly failed to legally guard a player as crafty as Shai. But it is one good thing that he makes mistakes; his ability to get free points is not a caveat to his greatness.
In these killer scoring runs – to decide games in trouble, or to put blowouts out of reach – he does what sports fans have always demanded of our best basketball players: force the issue. Get points for your team when they need them. Get open, go to the edge or go to the line. Don’t settle; get buckets.
Defenders foul him because they can’t stop him from getting to the rim or getting to his shot. When teams like the Mavericks are so ill-equipped to legally contest his shots, he goes to the line almost at will. But we also see the other side of the equation with heavily overmatched defenders: if you can’t make a meaningful, legal play, he drains almost every shot he takes. The likes of Klay, Naji Marshall, Max Christie and Nembhard fought for their lives to slow Shai down, but during his practice drills they looked like traffic cones for most of the match.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 33 PTS, 5 REB, 6 AST, 10/12 FG, 2/2 3FG, 11/12 FT, 95.5% TS vs. Mavs https://t.co/oSzyTT6UqW pic.twitter.com/oP5Pzqm6aB
— Basketball Performances (@NBAPerformances) December 6, 2025
Maybe as more fans see games like this, they’ll come to appreciate Gilgeous-Alexander’s sweater is what every team’s best defender can’t stop. What puts him in legendary scoring company is that he doesn’t just have hot spots behind the arc or on his favored side of the field.
SGA shoots well at every level, in every zone of the field. And no one can stop him. What should they do?
When he can’t stay for SGA and is whistled for a forearm foul, Klay asks, “What do I do?” pic.twitter.com/yjRkKoxJv9
— Daily Thunder (@dailythunder) December 7, 2025
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