Thunder Journal: New and Old Storylines
SGA2ASG
NBA All-Star voting begins tomorrow. Here’s hoping the passionate Thunder fanbase will vote in droves for Shaivonte Aician Gilgeous-Alexander. While he isn’t likely to be voted in as a starter due the fact he’s a guard in the same conference as Steph Curry and Luka Doncic, a strong showing from the fan vote will help SGA’s overall campaign. There’s no reason why the #3 scorer in the league at 31.2 points per game should miss out on the All-Star Game. SGA’s first All-Star appearance should be a given. But heavy hitters Devin Booker, Ja Morant and Damian Lillard are also vying for at most four backup guard spots. Trendy names like Anthony Edwards, Desmond Bane, Anfernee Simons and De’Aaron Fox may (ridiculously) steal some votes as well. And of course, SGA has gotta beat out the biggest threat to his All-Star debut: Mike Conley.
The Other Guys
Let’s give it up to the other guys on this Thunder team. SGA gets all the headlines, for good reason, as he deserves all of them and then some. Josh Giddey is the second most heralded player on the team, and again, well deserved after being a high lottery pick and a much buzzed about rookie season. Chet Holmgren hasn’t played one NBA minute yet and he’s still a top three most talked about Thunder player. Yet not a single one of the core’s three biggest perceived building blocks were on the court for OKC’s most surprising win of the season on Saturday night at The Paycom Center.