Canadian guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Toronto, ON) has made one thing clear this season: he's one of the best young players in the NBA.
At 23 years old, Gilgeous-Alexander has solidified his place as the clear cornerstone of the rebuilding Oklahoma City Thunder franchise, growing as a No. 1 option, leader, and closer with each and every game.
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Even though his averages are down a bit from last year, he is still enjoying a strong statistical season, averaging 22.5 points, 5.3 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game.
His development as a player has caught the attention of all NBA stakeholders, with a recent GM survey by HoopsHype's Michael Scotto revealing Gilgeous-Alexander as the eighth-most desirable young player to build a franchise around.
Gilgeous-Alexander fell in line behind young studs like Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum, Ja Morant, LaMelo Ball, Trae Young, Evan Mobley and Zion Williamson, but his name landed ahead of others like Anthony Edwards, Bam Adebayo, Jamal Murray, Cade Cunningham and Michael Porter Jr.
Finding himself right in the middle of that list is not bad company to be a part of when you're looking at the future stars of the NBA.
And while Gilgeous-Alexander's future is certainly bright, so is his present.
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The Toronto native has been as great as you possibly can be for a team that is more focused on the years to come than winning games this season. The Thunder own a 14-27 record overall, with all 14 wins coming in games Gilgeous-Alexander plays. They're 0-5 without the franchise player, which is to be expected.
The on/off stats don't paint the pretty picture you would hope for, but that's because the team's net rating accurately depicts their record regardless of whether he's on the court or on the bench. With that being said, they are still over five points better per 100 possessions when he's on the floor.
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But where Gilgeous-Alexander has really separated himself this season is in the clutch. SGA has become one of the most clutch players in the league, tied for ninth in clutch scoring while shooting an improved 44.4 percent from the field in those situations.
He's had several of those "All-Star Moments" that can help promote a case for a spot in the World's Greatest Pickup Game, stepping up to hit big-time shots for OKC whenever it does find itself in a close game.
We all remember his pull-up 3-pointer from the logo to put away the Los Angeles Lakers early in the season...
...but did you see Gilgeous-Alexander single-handedly pull off a win against his former LA Clippers with not one, but two clutch buckets down the stretch?
And, of course, it helps to have a little bit of magic on your side, like Gilgeous-Alexander did in this game-tying heave to send the Thunder into overtime against the New Orleans Pelicans:
The biggest hurdle Gilgeous-Alexander will have to overcome in trying to secure his first-career All-Star bid is the Thunder's record. It's hard to receive real All-Star consideration from the coaches who vote for the reserves when your team owns the second-worst record in the conference.
That likely puts him behind the 8-ball compared to some of his other All-Star-hopeful peers, but let's take a look at his competition.
NBA.com's Scott Rafferty already tiered potential All-Stars by "locks," "reserves" and "snubs," so we'll use that as a reference point.
Rightfully so, he named Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokic and LeBron James as the "locks."
The "safe bets" were Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, Chris Paul, Devin Booker, Draymond Green and Morant – all of whom play for the top-four teams in the conference, so it makes sense.
Since only 12 players make the All-Star team from each conference (before injury replacements), that only leaves three potential spots for the field.
Gilgeous-Alexander joins a group of other deserving players like Doncic, Edwards, Damian Lillard, Dejounte Murray, Brandon Ingram, Andrew Wiggins, Paul George, Anthony Davis, Karl-Anthony Towns and Deandre Ayton.
It's probably safe to assume Doncic gets in, but it gets tricky after that. Do the Warriors or Suns warrant a third All-Star for their success? Do players who have missed significant time to injury like Lillard, George or Davis get a nod? Has Murray's Most Improved Player of the Year-calibre play given him an edge over SGA? Or do the Timberwolves deserve an All-Star over OKC because they're in the playoff picture?
Those are all things the voting panel of coaches will have to consider, and good luck to them on making that decision.
But no matter how you look at it, Gilgeous-Alexander has proved worthy of being in this conversation, and he could be on the brink of the first of what should be many future All-Star bids to come.
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