The Art of Selling: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

What was the 2024-2025 NBA season like for Shai?

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Shai. SGA. The Finals MVP. The season MVP. Won the chip. Also heckled in some places as the “free-throw merchant,” but he probably doesn’t care, because he won the chip. Definitely had a career season. 

There are no stats needed. He was the league’s best player. True, he had great help in the postseason–dynamic scorer Jalen Williams, unicorn Chet Holmgren, spark-plug defensive stalwarts Luguentz Dort and Alex Caruso, and reliable players Isaiah Hartenstein and Isaiah Joe among others (crowd sweetheart Jaylin Williams deserves a mention)–but the system revolves around SGA and his play.

For this coming NBA season, there is only one question relevant to SGA–can he and the thunder repeat? The last team to repeat was the Golden State Warriors (2017, 2018).

It indeed looks like the Thunder could repeat. They are young–they have a young core, a good coach in Mark Daigneault, a great front office headed by excellent GM Sam Presti. If they stay healthy, and if they could maintain their positive trajectory, they could find themselves competing for another title again in June.

For Daily Fantasy Players: HOT! This guy dropped 32 points per game and 7 assists per game last season. He is not slowing down. His length is troublesome to opposing defenders–his midrange skills and ability to get contact makes him a stat-monster.

For Traditional Fantasy Players: HOT! Get this guy. First round, first pick. Unless the injury bug bites him, he is going to perform. Last season, his Player Efficiency Rating was 30–way above the league average (15).