Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has exploded into stardom this NBA season. His success has him leading the league in scoring, averaging a stunning 32.7 points per game while shooting 51.9% from the field. All that goes to explain how Buscaglia’s remarkable performance has made him a national player. It’s even sparked a renaissance for the midrange jumper, a long-despised “lost art” in a league increasingly dominated by the three-pointer.
This level of proficiency led Bleacher Report to call the Oklahoma City Thunder guard the best two-point jump-shot shooter on the planet. He’s second only to DeMar DeRozan for most attempts and makes this season. Gilgeous-Alexander is shooting a blistering 52.7% on those jumpers. His shooting percentage has Kevin Durant, second among all players who’ve attempted at least 150 two-point shots this season, in his rearview mirror. His success from this part of the court reinforces his old-school playing style, taking 3-4 shots a game in the midrange.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s overall skill set is best defined by his overall ability to create angles and space. He uses a full toolbox of pump-fakes, pivots, head-fakes and more to create separation from defenders and bait fouls. At 6-6½, he has a mind-boggling wingspan of 6-11½. These otherworldly physical blessings allow him to shoot completely over the top of his defenders at every level.
Until then, he’s nailed his ball-handling skills down to a science. This skill allows him to dictate the pace of play and glide by defenders with ease. His overall offensive game has come a long way since his rookie campaign. Around that point, he developed a relationship with Sam Cassell. It was their relentless workout regimen that helped develop Gilgeous-Alexander into one of the league’s elite scorers.
This season is a breakthrough year for Gilgeous-Alexander. He now joins Kevin Durant and Chris Paul in that exclusive club, having converted at least 250 two-point jumpers at a 50% clip in multiple seasons since the advent of player tracking in 2013-14. He is averaging over 30 points on greater than 50% shooting for the third straight season. This last achievement ranks him with basketball greats such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Wilt Chamberlain, Adrian Dantley and Michael Jordan.
On most nights, Gilgeous-Alexander will give you a highlight of his impressive scoring prowess and versatility. In one recent game, he shot 6-of-9 on two-point jumpers, 4-of-8 on floaters and layups, and managed to hit 1-of-4 three-pointers. He’s become far more reliant on midrange shots, a complete turnaround from his playstyle just a few years ago. His efficiency and volume in this area have increased significantly in each of the past three seasons.
“If you have spots going both ways, they have to pick one way and you go the other way and vice versa. The more spots, the more shots, the more variety you have, the harder it is to guard.” – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Gilgeous-Alexander’s strength and deceptive scoring repertoire is a nightmare for the league’s best defenders. Andrew Nembhard, a fellow NBA player, noted his physicality and agility make him difficult to guard closely: “He’s physical and he’s shifty, so he’s hard to stay tight with.”
Nembhard added that Gilgeous-Alexander’s height and length give him an advantage when shooting over defenders: “Then when you do, he bumps you. On top of that, he’s tall, he’s long and he can get those shots over the top of defenders. And he’s practiced that a lot.”
OKC head coach Mark Daigneault said it’s that variety that makes Gilgeous-Alexander so dangerous. There’s just a depth and a variety to his game,” Daigneault said. He elaborated on how Gilgeous-Alexander can score through multiple methods: He can get to there in a lot of different ways. He’ll post. He’ll play the pick-and-roll game. He can iso. He finds it in the flow. I think the diversity of that helps.
Daigneault highlighted how Gilgeous-Alexander’s diverse shot profile keeps defenses off balance: “Then the diversity of his shot profile. He’ll pass, get to the rim, he’ll shoot 3s as well. It’s not like he’s just a fastball pitcher. He’s got a lot of different things that he can go to that keeps teams off balance.”
The real secret to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s success might lie in his obsession with former NBA superstar Kobe Bryant. He even admits to making Bryant his favorite player as he’s watched and analyzed the intricacies of the Mamba’s game. Reflecting on this influence, he expressed his desire to approach Bryant’s level of skill: “The way he attacked the game is very impressive to me, and I just think he’s one of the most skilled players ever… The closer I can get to that level, the better off I’ll be.”
Gilgeous-Alexander either decides to dominate with his midrange or not. This decision was a savvy, opportune response to today’s cutting-edge defensive schemes. As Sam Cassell advised him during their training sessions: “I know that’s the shot that in today’s game that they’re giving up. They’re giving you the 15-foot pull-up shot.” Cassell encouraged him to excel in this area: “So I just told him from day one, if this is the shot they’re giving, let’s be exceptional at this shot.”
As Gilgeous-Alexander continues to mold his game around what feels comfortable while adapting to contemporary challenges, he remains committed to refining his midrange skills: “As my game’s been molded and as I came into my own, I’ve tried to stick with what works and what’s comfortable to me.”
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