SGA’s insane efficiency

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander just finished a 31.1-point season while making 55.3% of his shots, a combination almost never seen from a perimeter scorer. (basketball-reference.com) Basketball-Reference lists Gilgeous-Alexander at 31.1 points, 6.6 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 55.3% shooting across 68 regular-season games for the Oklahoma City Thunder. ESPN’s season page shows the same scoring average and field-goal mark. (basketball-reference.com) (espn.com) BasketNews reported on April 13 that the 55.3% figure is the highest field-goal percentage ever by a guard averaging at least 30 points per game, topping Michael Jordan’s 53.9%. StatMuse’s historical query shows Jordan owns the highest career mark for guards at 30 points per game, which helps frame how unusual Gilgeous-Alexander’s single-season number is. (basketnews.com) (statmuse.com) The basic idea is simple: high-volume scorers usually lose efficiency because harder shots pile up as defenses load up on them. Gilgeous-Alexander kept both numbers high anyway, averaging more than 31 points while shooting better than many centers and finishers. (basketball-reference.com) (espn.com) His shot diet helps explain it. He takes relatively few threes for a modern lead guard, gets to the foul line often, and converts a huge share of his two-point attempts in the midrange and at the rim. (basketball-reference.com) The team context is just as stark. Oklahoma City locked up the Western Conference’s top seed, and NBA.com’s playoff page listed the Thunder at No. 1 with home court through the conference playoffs as the postseason bracket was set on April 13. (nba.com) (espn.com) Yahoo Sports wrote last week that Oklahoma City played at a 68-win pace in Gilgeous-Alexander’s games and outscored opponents by 16.5 points per 100 non-garbage-time possessions with him on the floor. That is the profile of a scorer whose efficiency is driving wins, not just box-score volume. (sports.yahoo.com) This also lands one year after Gilgeous-Alexander’s 2024-25 award sweep. Basketball-Reference lists him as the 2024-25 Most Valuable Player, Western Conference finals Most Valuable Player and Finals Most Valuable Player after Oklahoma City’s title run. (basketball-reference.com) The playoff question is whether that regular-season accuracy survives a seven-game series built to take away his preferred spots. The regular season answer is already on the page: 31.1 points, 55.3% shooting, and a stat line that pushed a guard past a Michael Jordan benchmark. (basketball-reference.com) (basketnews.com)