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When Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander saw James Harden in the final minute of the first quarter, he took his time. Gilgeous-Alexander went between his legs to his left hand, then dribbled again as if to set up a step-back jumper, which he beat Harden with earlier in the quarter. Harden again reacted to contest a possible pull-up, only this time Gilgeous-Alexander went between his legs back to his right hand and drove around Harden’s left shoulder.

All Harden could do was try to swipe down on Gilgeous-Alexander, to no avail. The only Clippers defender at the rim was the 6-foot-4 Kevin Porter Jr. , making it an easy finish for the 6-foot-6 Gilgeous-Alexander.



These are the kinds of plays that make Gilgeous-Alexander one of the best scorers in basketball, particularly in isolation. No team goes to isolation plays more than the Thunder, as they average 15.6 possessions per game this season on those play types when passes are included.

Last season, the Thunder ranked fourth in isolation possessions behind only the Clippers and the two teams in the NBA Finals, the Dallas Mavericks and the Boston Celtics . Dallas eliminated the Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals, and the Celtics won the NBA championship. Advertisement Gilgeous-Alexander is the lead isolation player on the heaviest isolation team in the league.

Last season, only fellow MVP finalist Luka Doncic (7.9) averaged more points per game on isolations than Gilgeous-Alexander’s 6.8.

This season.

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