If you win the championship this year, then the Thunder s Alexander will be the strongest shooting guard in the current service

On June 19, in the history of the NBA, the position of the shooting guard has always been a place where superstars gather. From Jordan, Kobe to Wade and Harden, this position carries countless legends. Now, as the 2024-2025 season deepens, a name is rushing to the throne of the active number one shooting guard - Shea Gilgers-Alexander, with an unstoppable momentum. If the Oklahoma City Thunder can win the championship this year, the discussion on whether Alexander has surpassed Luca Doncic and Stephen Curry to become the strongest shooting guard at the moment" will no longer be a hypothesis, but a basketball proposition worthy of in-depth analysis.

### 1. Comprehensive crushing at the data level: the perfect combination of efficiency and output

The rise of Alexander is not accidental. This season's regular season, he averaged 33.1 points (second in the league), 6.4 assists and 5.8 rebounds per game, shooting as high as 53.7%, three-point shooting percentage 38.2%, and free throw shooting percentage 89.5%. What's even more amazing is that while he averaged 22.1 times per game (first in the league), he still maintained an inside shooting percentage of 62.3%, which even surpassed Wade at his peak. In contrast, although Doncic averaged 34.2 points per game, his shooting percentage of 44.1% and 35.6% of his three-point shooting percentage exposed the efficiency problem; Curry was targeted for defensive end due to his age, and his production of 28.5 points per game is hard to compete with Alexander. In the playoffs, Alexander's performance was more convincing. Facing the Nuggets' series, he still averaged 31.8 points per game with a real shooting rate of 57%, and his shooting percentage at critical moments (within 5 points in the last 5 minutes), far surpassing Doncic's 48.7% and Curry's 52.1%. This kind of scoring ability of "ignoring the environment" is exactly the core trait of top shooting guards.

### 2. The scarcity of offense and defense: The ultimate answer to modern basketball

Unlike Doncic and Curry, Alexander's influence on the defensive end can be regarded as a dimensional reduction strike. This season, he averaged 2.3 steals per game (third in the league), with a defensive efficiency of 106.3 (top five in the same position), and his opponent's shooting percentage dropped by 4.7 percentage points. In the Thunder's unlimited defense replacement system, he can not only guard speed guards like Morant, but also switch to Siakam-level forwards. In contrast, Doncic's shortcomings in defensive movement speed make him need teammates to assist in defense all year round; Curry is difficult to deal with high-intensity misaligned singles due to his body size limitations.

The technical comprehensiveness of the offensive end is Alexander's trump card. He has historically-level mid-range technology (46.7% hit rate, second only to Durant), and combined with his super long wingspan of 2.13 meters, he has developed an unsolvable singles leaning jump shot. At the same time, he scored 1.18 points per single (first in the league), far surpassing Doncic's 1.02 points. This scoring method that combines classical and modern makes the opponent's defensive strategy completely invalid - double-teaming will give Jie Wei, who has a three-point shooting percentage of 41%, while single defense will be eaten raw by his rhythm changes.

### 3. Qualitative change in team leadership ability: the leap from bottom to championship competition

The Thunder were still a play-off team last season, but this season it topped the West with a record of 62 wins and 20 losses, with a net efficiency value of +9.3 (first in the league). As the absolute core, Alexander has a net advantage of 12.1 points per 100 rounds when present, which is more than Doncic's +8.7 and Curry's +6.9. More importantly, he completely activated Homgren's pick-and-roll potential, with the two pick-and-roll scored 1.32 points per round, comparable to the Jokic-Murray combination. This trait of "making teammates better" is exactly the common feature of historical basebacks such as Jordan and Kobe. The series against the Celtics in the finals can be called Alexander's Battle of the Gods. Under the rotation of Jaylen Brown and White, he scored 47 points + 10 assists + 5 steals in a single game, becoming the first player in NBA history to achieve this data in the Finals. When he scored four consecutive mid-range shots in the fourth quarter to secure the victory, even Pierce on the sidelines had to admit: "This reminds me of Kobe in 2008, but Alexander's breakthrough was even more deadly."

### 4. The inevitability of the change of times: the perfect fit between rules and needs

The modern NBA's requirements for shooting guards have undergone essential changes. The rules have greatly reduced the efficiency of "smashing fouls" and Alexander averaged 8.7 free throws per game, only 1.2 of the "unnatural shooting actions". This "hard solution" ability is exactly in line with the new trend of the league's encouragement of confrontation. On the other hand, veteran points such as Harden have significantly reduced their data under the new regulations.

On the other hand, the proliferation of three-pointers has diluted the value of traditional shooters. Although Curry still maintained a three-point shooting percentage of 42.1%, his average assisted three-pointers per game rose to 71% (Alexander only had 38%), revealing his shortcomings in his lack of ball dependence. Alexander showed stronger stability in targeted defense in the playoffs with his independent score of 70.3%. When the Warriors were eliminated 4-1 by the Thunder in the Western Conference Final, Cole admitted: "We tried all the defensive strategies, but Shay is like a sophisticated scoring machine."

### Conclusion: The moment when the new king is at the forefront of the championship ring has always been the ultimate endorsement of the superstar. If Alexander successfully reaches the top this year, he will become the first shooting guard in NBA history to win the championship, MVP, FMVP and scoring champion in a single season. This dominance not only surpassed Doncic and Curry in active service, but even began to touch on the scope of discussions between Jordan and Kobe. When a 26-year-old player has both data, efficiency, defense and leadership, we may be witnessing the beginning of a new era - the era of Shea Gilgers-Alexander.