How the Thunder’s Superstar Can Improve For Next Season

The Thunder finished the Summer League, losing their first game in the playoffs, and were unable to accomplish the trifecta. Now, the Thunder have their entire focus on preparing for the 2025-2026 NBA season. Since the Thunder won the Finals, other teams in the West have made moves to try and catch them. Teams like the Los Angeles Clippers, Houston Rockets, Denver Nuggets, and others all made major moves this offseason to take down the Thunder. The Thunder’s title defense will be extremely challenging next season, given the tough Western Conference and the huge target on their back. They are planning on running it back next season with the same group and will have to rely on internal growth, especially their superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, to improve.

Gilgeous-Alexander is already coming off a near-perfect season. He was an All-Star starter, 1st-team All-NBA, regular season MVP, Western Conference Finals MVP, won the NBA championship as well as Finals MVP, won the ESPY for Best Athlete in Men’s Sports, and, finally, won the scoring title. It was one of the most successful seasons an NBA player has ever had. You may be wondering how and if he can even improve from this year. However, there are three key areas where the Thunder’s superstar can improve for next season.

How the Thunder’s Superstar Can Improve For Next Season

1. Playmaking

Gilgeous-Alexander has already made strides in his playmaking last year and took a significant jump. However, this is a part of his game that he needs to keep improving. He had a career high in assists last year with an average of 6.4; however, getting that number closer to eight will be huge for his own particular game. The Thunder have a great supporting cast, and SGA doing an even better job next season to get others more involved will only help the team even more and make life easier for himself.

Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the best isolation scorers in the NBA. In addition, he is a merchant in the midrange, attacks the basket well, and is extremely efficient. However, since he is a lethal scorer, defenses are focused solely on him and double-team him a ton. SGA becoming a better playmaker will only make it tougher for defenses to keep double-teaming him and packing the paint like they were in the past. Next season, if Shai can still average around 28-29 points per game, but increase his assists to 7.5 or even 8, it will make his life easier as a scorer and make the Thunder even harder to guard.

2. Three-Point Shooting

Another area where Gilgeous-Alexander can improve to make life easier for himself is by improving his three-point shot. Just like his playmaking, Gilgeous-Alexander made strides in his perimeter shooting last year, but he can still improve. Last year, he shot 37.5% on a career high of 5.7 attempts. However, he struggled in the playoffs, shooting 28.3% on 4.9 attempts. His three-point shot is still a work in progress, but an area he needs to keep improving every year.

If he can become a consistent 40% three-point shooter, he will be a lethal three-level scorer. This will also make it harder for defenses to pack the paint in on him. It will also spread the defense out, which is what you want to do as an offense. If SGA can improve his playmaking and three-point shot, he will have no holes in his offensive game. Furthermore, he will have a counter for everything the defense throws at him, and there will essentially be no answers for him. Defenders will just hope that he has one of those off nights when they play the Thunder.

3. On-Ball Defense

Finally, Gilgeous-Alexander should improve his on-ball defense. He is a great off-ball defender, jumping in passing lanes, getting steals, or even just disrupting an entry pass in the post. In addition, he is solid at defending the low-man spot when guarding the rim on occasion, as he is a pretty good shot-blocker for a guard. However, his on-ball presence is a little weaker, as he sometimes struggles to stay in front of great players. Ultimately, SGA isn’t expected to improve on this area too much as he already exerts a ton of energy on offense, and he is already one of the best two-way players in the NBA.

The Last Word on Gilgeous-Alexander’s Improvements

Heading into next season, the Thunder will have three disadvantages they didn’t have last year. The first one is a big target on their back, the second is that hunger and desire for a ring, and the third is how rivals will build a team to stop them. The Thunder have decided to run it back next season, which means they will have to rely on internal growth for improvement instead of adding players. Gilgeous-Alexander is the main player who must improve, as well as Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, among others. If these three can make significant improvements, the Thunder will be in a prime position to repeat as NBA champions.