The NBA season kicked off on Tuesday, and already the Oklahoma City Thunder have played more than 48 minutes in each contest.
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Both of Oklahoma City's first two games have gone past the distance - playing in not just one overtime, but double overtime in each. Through just two contests, the Thunder have already logged an exhausting 116 minutes of basketball.
Oklahoma City has played free basketball in both of its games so far, and its best player - and arguably the best player in the league -Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has put on a show.
He’s picking up right where he left off last season and is on pace to be right in the thick of the conversation. So much so that the MVP from last season has joined an elite company through two games of the season.
The NBA History X account shared that Gilgeous-Alexander’s 90 points through the first two games of the season are the fifth-most in NBA history.
The 2024-25 MVP only trails Michael Jordan, Anthony Davis and Wilt Chamberlain.
Chamberlain is on the list twice, scoring 105 points to start the 1961-62 season and 106 points to start the 1962-63 season.
Gilgeous-Alexander recorded a career-high 55 points and came out on top in the contests in this NBA Finals rematch from last season. They defeated the Indiana Pacers, 141-135, on Thursday night.
Gilgeous-Alexander reached 50 points for the fifth time, tying former MVP Russell Westbrook by a Thunder player. The 26-year-old was stellar, shooting 15-of-31 from the field, and recording eight rebounds, five assists, one block and two steals in 45 minutes of action. He also went 23-of-26 from the free-throw line.
In two games thus far this season, Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 45 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.5 blocks and 2.0 steals while shooting 47.4 percent from the field and 18.8 percent from beyond the arc.
Last season was Gilgeous-Alexander’s best, joining elite company by becoming one of eight players to win MVP, Finals MVP and a scoring title in his career. He joined the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and Chamberlain.
He and Abdul-Jabbar are the only players to win those awards by the age of 26. Gilgeous-Alexander still has plenty of his career ahead, but at the pace he's moving, a trip to the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield seems well within reach.
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