Why Former Thunder Teammate Thinks Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the ‘Best Player in the World’

Oklahoma City — both fans and players — still has a few players from the rebuild that they keep an eye on around the league. It’s easy to get attached to young talent when the wins aren’t adding up on a team, and eventually when the team rises to a contending level, it’s fair to want to keep tabs on those kinds of players. For the Thunder, Josh Giddey is certainly one of them.

Thunder fans know better than anyone — Giddey’s potential was always through the roof. He had huge performances in Oklahoma City and really found his footing after his rookie season. Of course, at the very end of his time with the Thunder, it was clear that things weren’t working out. In the playoffs, the spacing just wasn’t there and Giddey’s confidence wasn’t in a good spot. A fresh start was needed for Giddey, and a player like Alex Caruso was necessary for Oklahoma City.

Now, with a team catered to him as the primary ball handler, Giddey is finding the success that always seemed possible. In Chicago, Giddey has discovered his role and is playing a comfortable style of basketball.

On Friday night, Giddey had one of the best performances of his NBA career. In 38 minutes, he poured in 32 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists on 12-of-21 from the floor. It brought his season averages to 22.0 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 8.0 assists on 48.1% from the floor and 45.5% from 3-points range. He is perhaps the biggest reason for Chicago’s unexpected 5-0 start to the season, and brought home a big NBA Cup win against the Knicks.

When he was asked about the difference a year makes in his game, he gave a thoughtful answer and touched on his previous role in Oklahoma City.