Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is headed for the history books Monday night.
The Oklahoma City Thunder’s reigning MVP is on track to tie Wilt Chamberlain’s record of most consecutive games with 20-plus points (126) in a home tilt against the Denver Nuggets. And if last week was any indication, the way that SGA is officiated will continue to be a source of conversation and controversy.
First, ESPN’s Doris Burke spotlighted the topic, going viral on March 1 when she argued that the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards was whistled for an offensive foul that, in her view, would not have been called on Gilgeous-Alexander. Three days later, New York Knicks coach Mike Brown found the most polite way possible to say, in essence, the same thing.
“He does a great job of convincing the referees — probably better than anyone in the league — that he’s getting hit,” Brown told reporters after the Thunder’s 103-100 win at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.
Then came Steve Kerr. The Golden State Warriors coach couched his criticism Saturday by clarifying that SGA was merely exploiting the system.
“He’s incredibly clever, and he knows exactly how to draw contact, and it’s all within the rules,” Kerr told reporters. “I don’t have a problem with Shai; I have a problem with the rules. We, as a league … hardly allow the defense to do anything guarding the ball.”
Those viewpoints have merit, and there’s a worthy discussion to be had about Gilgeous-Alexander’s methods, but all that nuance and negativity should fall by the wayside in honor of his remarkable feat. After all, this is Wilt we’re talking about here. Any player who finds a way to topple one of his many mind-blowing marks deserves to be celebrated. And even SGA’s biggest detractors have to admit that he has become one of the most consistent and dynamic scorers in the history of the game.
As NBA.com’s Steve Aschburner highlighted here, Chamberlain and Gilgeous-Alexander are in a class of their own on this front:
“No one else in NBA history has had a streak of 20-point nights hit triple digits. Oscar Robertson got to 79 games. (Michael) Jordan and Kevin Durant maxed out at 72. (Kareem) Abdul-Jabbar reached 71; Kobe Bryant, 63; and LeBron James’ 49 rank 21st.”
That paragraph alone shows how difficult it is to match this record. For SGA’s part, this steadiness — night in and night out — is a direct reflection of his renowned work ethic and ethos. Or, as the kids say, his aura.
Remember that interview he did around this time a year ago, when he talked about consistency being the key to his entire life? This is that, only in box-score form.
• Gilgeous-Alexander last scored fewer than 20 points on Oct. 30, 2024, when he had 18 in a 105-93 home win against the San Antonio Spurs (shooting 7 of 20 from the field).
• In the seven games before this streak began, Gilgeous-Alexander scored fewer than 20 points three times. Before that stretch, he had scored 20-plus in 29 consecutive games (Jan. 18, 2024, to March 22, 2024).
• In this stretch of 125 consecutive games with 20-plus points, Gilgeous-Alexander has averaged 32.4 points while shooting 53.4 percent from the floor, 38.2 percent from 3-point range (on 5.1 attempts per game) and 89.7 percent from the free-throw line (on 9.3 attempts). He won his first scoring title last season and is currently second behind the Los Angeles Lakers’ Luka Dončić (32.5 to SGA’s 31.6).
Knueppel’s unusual ROY case
When it comes to the Rookie of the Year race, team success isn’t typically that important to voters. And with good reason.
Because the NBA Draft lottery is designed to deliver elite talents to the league’s worst teams, it’s only fair to focus on individual impact when assessing this award. But the Charlotte Hornets’ Kon Knueppel is testing this logic.
For starters, the Hornets guard is going tit for tat with the Dallas Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg when it comes to good, old-fashioned production. What’s more, Knueppel has played significantly more (64 games compared to Flagg’s 52), in large part because of the left foot injury that recently cost Flagg eight games before his return last week against the Orlando Magic. While the league’s 65-game rule doesn’t apply to this award, a player’s overall body of work will always be considered.
Here’s a look at their respective lines per 48 minutes:
- Knueppel: 29 points (48.9 percent on field goals; 43.7 percent on 3s on 12.1 attempts), 8 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.1 steals, 0.4 blocks
- Flagg: 28.7 points (47.2 percent on field goals; 29.5 percent on 3s on five attempts), 9.4 rebounds, 6 assists, 1.7 steals, 1.3 blocks
Even outside of the ROY context, Knueppel has been sensational this season — especially from long range. He’s leading the league in made 3s (224) and shooting at the highest clip among players who have attempted at least 300 shots from behind the arc (43.7 percent, with Denver’s Jamal Murray second at 43.1).
Secondly, and perhaps of equal importance, is the role Knueppel has played in the Hornets’ spectacular second-half turnaround. Before Sunday’s loss to the Phoenix Suns, the Hornets (32-33; 10th in the Eastern Conference) had won 16 of 20 games (since Jan. 22) after starting just 16-28. In that span, they had a net rating of 17.5 with Knueppel on the floor and a mark of 4.8 when he was off. That swing — 12.7 — trailed only big man Moussa Diabate (a staggering 20.2 swing) among the Hornets starters. The Mavericks, meanwhile, have actually been better without Flagg on the floor this season (minus 3.3) than with him (minus 4.5).
The notion of the ROY coming from a non-losing team isn’t as rare as one might think.
In the last 30 years, there have been seven ROY winners whose teams were .500 and above. Here’s that group.
- Scottie Barnes (2021-22): Raptors went 48-34
- Ben Simmons (2017-18): Philadelphia 76ers went 52-30
- Malcolm Brogdon (2016-17): Milwaukee Bucks went 42-40
- Derrick Rose (2008-09): Chicago Bulls went 41-41
- Amar’e Stoudemire (2002-03): Suns were 44-38
- Mike Miller (2000-01): Orlando Magic went 43-39
- Tim Duncan (1997-98): Spurs went 56-26
At this rate, the Hornets — and Knueppel — may be the latest additions to the list.
The Warriors’ Porziņģis problem
When the Warriors dealt for Kristaps Porziņģis at the February trade deadline, sending Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for the veteran center, their reasoning wasn’t hard to understand. Not only would the 30-year-old provide a two-way presence that was sorely missing from the roster, with the prospect of pairing him with Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler giving them a puncher’s chance in the playoffs, but also the tension around Kuminga’s situation would finally be gone.
Oh, the best laid plans …
This was the definition of a calculated risk, with Porziņģis’ mysterious health history inserting an element of uncertainty that has since created some chaos. Porziņģis, who missed 10 of his first 11 games with the Warriors after the trade, finally returned on Saturday and reminded everyone why there was initially so much optimism about his addition. He finished with 9 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and a block in 23 minutes, but he had a team-best mark of plus-6. And regardless of how his individual line read, the Warriors — without Curry — found a way to compete with the reigning champion Thunder until the end before falling 104-97. They’re now in eighth place in the West, firmly positioned for the Play-In Tournament because of the gap both above them (Phoenix, 4 1/2 games ahead, is seventh) and below (the 11th-place Memphis Grizzlies are 8 1/2 games behind).
If only they could count on Porziņģis being available every time out.
As Porziņģis shared with our Fred Katz back in October, he struggles with a condition known as postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (“POTS”) that makes it challenging to know when he will be ready to compete. Even after Kerr had his public relations misstep late last month, when the coach downplayed the significance of Porziņģis’ diagnosis, team officials said it’s hard to figure out how to handle this sensitive situation. The fact that Porziņģis will be a free agent this summer makes it even harder.
And then there was the compounding Kuminga effect.
While Kuminga’s left knee inflammation has kept him out of the past two games, he averaged a team-high 21.3 points (on a team-high 67.7 percent shooting) to go with 7.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists in his first three games — all Hawks wins — thus sending Warriors fans into a tizzy from which they might never recover. I’m exaggerating, but only slightly.
If one were to be so illogical as to take the measured view, one might want to wait until the offseason to determine how this deal might age. Porziņģis insisted on Saturday that he has the energy to make it to the end of the season, but that sort of proclamation has proved to be a moving target. He’s sitting out Monday night’s game against the Utah Jazz as part of his reintegration process. Meanwhile, the question of whether the Warriors will re-sign Porziņģis looms large, not only because of his role but also because his salary slot might be necessary to land a player like Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo via trade in the summer (the Warriors, of course, could have simply held onto Kuminga to play this part).
The outcome of this whole sordid saga is TBD, in other words, as unsatisfying as that might seem.