The NBA season is two weeks in, and it is clear that last year’s champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder, are still far and away the best team in the league.
Last season’s champions are proving their run was no fluke. There’s no sign of a championship hangover, as they’re locked in on becoming the first team to repeat since the 2017-18 Golden State Warriors.
The Thunder have all the pieces to do just that, led by their superstar guard and MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Gilgeous-Alexander has been stellar to start the season, and in his most recent game — a win over the Los Angeles Clippers — he made history.
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Gilgeous-Alexander passed Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson for the third-longest streak of scoring 20+ points in NBA history.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s current streak is at 80.
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NBA legend and Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain has the two longest streaks for consecutive 20+ point games in NBA history. Chamberlain has a 126-game streak from October 1961 to January 1963 and a 92-game streak from February 1963 to March 1964.
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Gilgeous-Alexander reached 80 consecutive games with 20+ points on Tuesday night in a stellar win over the Clippers. In that contest, he recorded 30 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field, 12 assists, four rebounds and three blocks in 29 minutes of action.
The Thunder came out on top, 126-107.
After the win, Gilgeous-Alexander shared the minor adversity that the team overcame after falling behind early in this contest.
“You learn the most in these games. Usually, you’re in the mud because the team is doing something that’s putting you in the mud. You have to figure out a way to get out. You have to figure out a way to win the mud. You have to figure out a way to get better so you’re not in the mud,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “The mud typically is something that slows you down. You’re not in the mud when you’re out there as a group doing what you want to do… We got better over the years. Figuring out how to win and get better through those games and lessons.”
“Every team starts the year 0-0, and they have 82 games, and they get a chance to win all 82,” Gilgeous-Alexander continued. “Now it doesn’t work like that more often than not, but we understand the opportunity in front of us, and we sum it up just trying to attack it every day.”
In this young NBA season, Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 33.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, 6.6 assists, and 1.4 blocks through eight games.
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