Shai Gilgeous-Alexander became one of 12 players in NBA history to score at least 3,000 points in the regular season and playoffs.
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OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA - MAY 22: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder accepts the MVP Michael Jordan Trophy prior to a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game Two of the Western Conference Finals of the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center on May 22, 2025 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Following his 34-point performance in the Oklahoma City Thunder‘s Game 2 win in the NBA Finals, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander cemented his 2024-25 campaign as one of the best ever.
Gilgeous-Alexander now becomes one of just 12 players in NBA history to score 3,000 total points in a season. The accomplishment has happened a total of 25 times in the league’s 78 seasons, with each non-active player on the list currently in the Hall of Fame. The milestone encompasses both regular season and playoff scoring numbers.
Michael Jordan leads the list, hitting the 3,000-point mark ten times in his career. Wilt Chamberlain accomplished the feat five times. Other players on the ellusive list are Elgin Baylor, Rick Barry, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bob McAdoo, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Luka Doncic. All of them hit the mark just once in their careers.
Gilgeous-Alexander is also the fourth player in NBA history to score at least 3,000 points and contribute at least 600 assists in the same year, alongside Jordan, Harden, and Doncic.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s Scoring Prowess
Gilgeous-Alexander has been on an absolute tear this season, scoring a league-high 32.7 points per game in the regular season. That number is the 27th-highest average ever, and the fifth-highest amongst active players.
The only other active player to win MVP in a season to average more than 32 points a night is Joel Embiid, who during the 2022-23 campaign averaged 33.1 points in 66 games. Gilgeous-Alexander is also just one of two active players to average more than 30 points per game and win MVP as a point guard, the other being Russell Westbrook in the 2016-17 season.
“I always thought that I could be a really good player because I had seen what just putting your head down and working and controlling what you can control can do for you,” Gilgeous-Alexander said last month in his NBA MVP acceptance speech. “But I never, like, thought this was going to happen. I dreamt about it as a kid, but you know as a kid it’s a fake dream.”
His 2484 total points in 76 games rank 35th in total regular season scoring, the fourth-highest of current players. Harden, Durant, and Westbrook each rank higher than the current MVP in that category, yet none of them ended the season as champions.
His 30.4 points a night in these playoffs rank second only behind Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s 33-point average, but the Bucks played in just five postseason games.
In Line For An All-Time Season
Gilgeous-Alexander won the MVP award during the regular season. If Oklahoma City ends up victorious against the Indiana Pacers, he would also be the likely Finals MVP winner. Only eight players have ever won both of the prestigious awards in the same year, with Jordan doing it four times and LeBron James doing it twice.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s 72 points in his first two career NBA Finals games also set a record, beating out Allen Iverson’s iconic performances in the 2001 championship series. He also set a Thunder record in these playoffs, becoming the first player in team history to score at least 30 points in five consecutive games.
Besides just individual statistics, Gilgeous-Alexander helped lead the Thunder to the sixth-best regular season record ever at 68-14. If they do finish as champions with the necessary 16 playoff wins, the team would also finish tied for the third most in league history, with 84 total victories.
The only teams ahead would be the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors and the Chicago Bulls teams in the 1995-96 and 1996-97 seasons.
The performance Gilgeous-Alexander has given this NBA season has been nothing short of generational. The only player to hit the marks he’s seen in scoring and assists while winning the Finals MVP is Jordan, who remains in the pantheon of NBA playoff performers.
Jordan has the highest playoff scoring average in league history at 33.4 points per game. Gilgeous-Alexander’s 25.5 playoff career average is a bit farther down the list at 19th, but only eight other players above him have won the Finals MVP award.
If he ends the season as MVP, champion, and Finals MVP, Gilgeous-Alexander’s 2024-25 season will go down as one of the most successful in NBA history.