SGA is close to surpassing Russell Westbrook’s OKC record
The The Oklahoma City Thunder opened the 2025-26 season in exciting fashion with back-to-back double overtime games, first against the Houston Rockets and then against the Indiana Pacers. The Thunder were led by a franchise player and MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexanderwhich is on the verge of overcoming Russell WestbrookA franchise record after his offensive explosion against the Pacers.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dropped a record 55 points at the Pacers as the Thunder move to 2-0 on the season, and with another 50-point game will surpass Russell Westbrook’s record for maximum 50 game points in franchise history, according to StatMuse. Both SGA and Westbrook have five 50-point games for the Thunder.
Gilgeous-Alexander earns his first MVP award while leading the Thunder to their first championship in franchise history as they lay claim to the history of the Seattle Sonics. The Thunder originally acquired SGA in a 2019 offseason trade with the LA Clippers that sent Paul George to the Clippers. While that wasn’t the case at the time, it’s now widely believed that the Thunder won that trade.
Last season, Gilgeous-Alexander appeared in 76 games for the Thunder, averaging just over 34 minutes per game. He averaged 32.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 1.7 steals while shooting 51.9 percent from the field, 37.5 percent from the three-point line and 89.8 percent from the free throw line.
During the Thunder’s championship run, he averaged 29.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 1.7 steals while shooting 46.2 percent from the field, 28.3 percent from the three-point line and 87.6 percent from the free throw line.
In the Thunder’s first win of the season 125-124 in double overtime against the Rockets, SGA finished with 35 points, five rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks in 47 minutes of action. He shot 12 of 26 from the field and 10 of 14 from the free throw line, but shot just 1 of 9 from the three-point line
The Thunder remain the early favorite to repeat as NBA champions, and Gilgeous-Alexander has a good chance to win another MVP award.
2025-10-24 03:32:00
