Is A Balanced Scoring Attack Behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Sustainable?

Through the first month of the season, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been playing at an MVP level. While leading the team to a 6-7 record and a top-20 net rating, he’s truly emerged as a legitimate star in the NBA.

Gilgeous-Alexander is currently averaging 31.1 points, 5.7 assists, 4.4 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting 36.1% from deep and 93.4% from the free throw line.

“You’re missing a show if you’re not watching Oklahoma City with Shai in the lineup. In any given year, those are First Team All-NBA numbers,” said former NBA sharpshooter JJ Redick last week.

Getting it done on both ends, Gilgeous-Alexander has turned things up defensively while also being the seventh-best scorer in the league. The Thunder truly go as he goes, struggling tremendously on offensive outside of him for most of the season.

In fact, it’s still pretty unclear who the secondary scorer on this Oklahoma City roster is. To this point, there’s no a defined second-best scorer behind Gilgeous-Alexander to enhance the offense.

Instead, it’s been a balanced attack with several players carrying the secondary scoring load. In a game last week against the Toronto Raptors, the Thunder actually had eight different players score in double figures for the first time in franchise history.

When looking at the top scoring threats behind Gilgeous-Alexander, there’s really four players that make up a good portion of those points.

• Josh Giddey: 14.7 points per game
• Lu Dort: 13.5 points per game
• Tre Mann: 11.1 points per game
• Aleksej Pokusevski: 9.4 points per game

These are the four players outside of SGA that produce at least nine points per game, although none of which average more than 15.

Many thought Lu Dort would be the primary scorer behind Gilgeous-Alexander entering the year, but he’s actually taking fewer shots per game than he did in the 2021-22 campaign.

Aleksej Pokusevski is beginning to emerge as a real piece of the Thunder core, but isn’t yet the type of player capable of scoring effectively on volume. On the flip side, Tre Mann is built to be a scorer, but comes off the bench and often doesn’t get the shot attempts needed to generate that level or production even when running the second unit.

Instead, it’s been Josh Giddey that has been the second leading scorer for the Thunder to this point. He’s not necessarily a player that prefers to shoot, as he’s a pass-first facilitator. With how much Oklahoma City has struggled offensively outside of Gilgeous-Alexander, he’s has to step up as a scorer.

Is having a balanced supporting cast sustainable to win games? Will someone need to step up and be a 20-point scorer on most nights, and if so who will that be?

It seems most likely that Dort will emerge as the secondary scorer for the Thunder as the season goes on. He’s been wildly inefficient this year, even more than in seasons past. As he starts to get into more of a rhythm, he could absolutely be a guy that averages close to 20 points per game. He produced 17.2 points per contest just last year, and has the ability to further improve on that if his shooting splits start trending upwards.

Regardless of who finishes the season as the second leading scorer, the Thunder likely wont be a playoff team. It’s all about development this year and taking another step towards longer term contention.

Furthermore, there’s a good chance that Chet Holmgren or the Thunder’s 2023 NBA Draft selection ends up being the secondary offensive weapon behind Gilgeous-Alexander moving forward. For now, it’s a balanced attack on offensive behind Gilgeous-Alexander.