Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a very good basketball player, but the way is officiated inflates his value and accomplishments.
It’s normal for superstar players to get a good whistle. It’s normal for superstars to sometimes get away with things. But typically, superstars have a level of elite, outlier athleticism and skill that makes them undeniably the best
SGA doesn’t have those things.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is not a special player
SGA is a great player.
But let’s highlight one thing.
Jordan used tight footwork to get to his spot.
Curry and KD in their primes had elite quickness to create separation.
But SGA? SGA often uses his elbow to START the separation, committing blatant offensive fouls.
By them not enforcing it… it allows SGA to get away with
- Not having a very fast first step
- Not having a killer crossover
And thus, it makes him better than he really is. It allows his legacy to be inflated above his actual skill level.
Again, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is not an outlier athlete. He is a good passer but not a special one. He can play good defense but he’s not great. Not that good of a 3PT shooter, historically. He is good at getting to the rim but not great. He is a very good athlete, but as we can see, he is clearly not special enough to get separation without elbowing.
SGA isn’t freakishly athletic enough to get to the rim blazing fast and get vertical here. So he has to elbow Luke Kennard twice to get the layup.
And he gets two free throws out of it… showing that…
The Refs Elevate SGA
His “signature game 4” in the Finals is a perfect example of this.
Look at this sequence of plays.
Two out of the three offensive possessions he scored – he got away with blatant pushoffs – the last bucket at the end being EGREGIOUS.
He is allowed to get away with contact/offensive fouls that other star players are not.
We never saw SGA on these plays use an actual crossover move. Or hit a tough fadeaway like Kobe, contested.
He just elbowed to push off.
You know how many players would be greater if they were allowed to do this?
Think of Anthony Edwards. Imagine how much better in the playoffs he’d be if he were allowed to push off and get generous calls like this – thus forcing teams to throw hard doubles at him, giving him easier passing reads.
Conclusion
Are we saying SGA is bad? No, of course not. But the reality is that he isn’t a one-of-one player. He’s likely a top 10 player, who has been unfairly propped up into being a top 2 player.
If you disagree, then ask yourself this. At how many areas of the game is SGA really better than his contemporaries?
- Defense
- 3PT shooting
- Mid range shooting
- Paint scoring
- Passing/playmaking
- Ballhandling
- Athleticism
Is SGA really better at all these things than guys like Jokic, Edwards, Tatum, Luka, etc.? He has the edge on 1 or 2 of these things, but not all.
