That is a lot of games to miss since last year.

OKC, over the last two seasons, is 13-5 when Shai doesn’t play

As a Denver fan I’ve long since given up on the Shai hate. I hate OKC and Shai annoys me at times but he is so ridiculously good that as a basketball fan you have to disregard your bias and admire what he’s doing right now. Just a generational talent.

While both are super important in the playoffs, in the regular season has so much depth that then be completly fine without those 2, as long as they have Ajay Mitchell (if Dub is out) or Hartenstein (if Chet is out).

The model is SGA + defense, it’s not a big 3

This says more about OKC than Shai. Well-coached and deep team.

Shai should also be the repeat MVP. Both are true imo.

It’s almost like the other players on the team are also really good…

I mean, I think its s huge disrespect to OKC to say that without Shai they’re not special. Hes the cherry on top, their best player. But OKC are a great team, with great depth. All you gotta do is look at like 27 other teams to appreciate that 

Takes nothing away from Shai to give the other players their due

When SGA is the MVP “stacked team”, “wow GJ Presti”, “the PG trade was so bad”

When Jokic is the MVP “his teammates are useless”, “Jokic is peaking higher than anyone ever” “Denver needs to get Jokic more help”

I really hope it’s OKC vs San Antonio for the west final.

Although I think shai is better than luka, giannis, etc. This stat is more of an an indicator that OKC is NOT top heavy and shai has hella help lmfao

You know, Shai can be a great player and OKC can be a stacked team. Both can be true. I know it’s hard to understand, what with the quality of education over there in OK.

Having SGA makes any team have an elite offense. But SGA haters won’t admit it because he’s better than their favorite player lol

People dont understand how much easier it is to play when the entire team isn’t relying on you every night.

that pressure and weight takes its toll.

sga having 2 all-stars, elite role players, deep bench helps him so much, it allows him to play more freely and consistently.

They’re better made to deal with injuries than any team but they only reach the heights they reach because of him. It’s not that they’re 41-4 without JDub it’s that they could only be 36-9 or 31-14. They feel like they could win the championship without him and that’s more of a mark of Shai than his cast.

Something tells me that this kid is really, really fucking good. Idk tho could be wrong.

This kid really out here arguing Shai has a worst roster lmao, Lakers have one of the worst bench scoring in the league and that’s a fact, not a made up argument.

You have a ton of depth, structure and defense. You have 9 players who can play elite defense. Lakers have smart and vando. The flex you are pointing out isn’t really a flex because without Chet or Williams OKC is winning proves that OKC has the depth.

I don’t know the exact figures but how many games have SGA sat down at the fourth without Williams or Chet? See the difference? SGA can afford to sat down fourth quarters despite having either those people and if that’s not what you call a stacked roster, I don’t know what is.

Oh you forgot to include that OKC is 8-4 without Shai playing and Lakers are 6-6 without Luka.

Im with you OP. The disrespect for SGA is crazy. 

Post this in r/okc 

He was also in the lottery not very far back…..what does that imply….its a team game

Who gives a shit

Oh this is a spurs fan using a stat that shows shai has help to ragebait and get people to hate on shai lmfao, either that or he is an idiot.

How do you use a stat that fully disproves your point, as your sole stat

Man shut up, cherry picked stats like this don’t make the point you’re trying to make

I mean dont they have a pretty good record without Shai as well? Regardless Shai is an amazing player so yeah they are amazing when he plays.

what happens when ur superstar isn’t heliocentric, other players can actually touch the ball

Shai is an incredible player but Presti is the GOAT. The roster is insane 15 legit playable guys.

People who point out how much OKC wins without Shai are completely missing the leadership he brings to the floor. Other players step up in the moment, and Mark comes up with great single-game plans, but those soft skills that Shai brings are nigh impossible to teach; you either have them or you don’t. The rest of OKC cannot command the floor like Shai does. It takes more than talent to win games.

Shai is amazing but I think you missed the point of when people bring up OKC’s depth because this record can demonstrate that as well. The fact that they can be that good without their second or third best players is a testament to Shai as well as their roster construction because there are plenty of teams where their best players could still play great without one of their other guys and the team isn’t as good because everyone on the roster moves up a spot. Top heavy teams are impacted by star players getting hurt more so than ones with good depth. The KD Warriors had a pretty good record when either KD or Steph was missing, because that was an absurdly talented team. Kind of similar to this.

It’s crazy how he has such a good record all by himself

It IS a testament to the team. If you swap Shai and Luka, the Lakers 100% wont have 45 wins now, and OKC would probably be the same. Shai has such a good supporting cast that their 10th guy can step in and you will barely notice.

They have Mitchell, Caruso, Joe, Wiggins, Hartenstein… their 2nd 5 best players are all above average to good starter level players on 90% of other teams in the league, that depth is unheard of in modern NBA… nobody is saying that Shai isn’t incredible, but what hes doing in the context of how amazing my his team is is NOT as impressive as what Luka is doing with a team that EVERYONE has established is weak and incredibly flawed.

I read it somewhere recently that the Finals lineup of last year have not played 2 whole games together ALL SEASON

No matter how the NBA has evolved Superstar power will always be the thing that reigns supreme. Even though OKC has a stacked roster they aren’t doing shit unless they have that superstar and Shai is that guy

Holy shit

The point is what the team is without Shai.

Shai is awesome. No doubt. However, I don’t recall him being crazy good before he got a great team (and organization) around him. Was he ever able to put a bad team on his back?

Wemby is better. 

OKC should trade both of them for a haul of FRP. Clearly SGA doesn’t need those scrubs. /s but watch this happen and Jaylin Williams turns into their next stud. And we all know Presti loves picks.

Maybe this shai guy is pretty good

It’s almost like he’s their best player

Hahaha you started your post on r/NBAtalk with “Every butthurt moron attributes Shai’s success…”

You just sound really mad and chronically online.

Two rings can be right at once

No disagreeing that Shai is great, but doesn’t saying that OKC is great because of their depth suggest that, even with those two guys (or one of them) out, OKC should still win because of that depth? I feel like your argument doesn’t prove the point you think it does. 🤷🏾‍♂️

Not really having to do with Shai, u less you’re saying Chet and Jdub are bums. Thunder are way too deep they can miss players and still be fine unlike most teams. Imo makes the mvp case less impressive when your whole team is a bucket. Easy passes easy shots etc.

Everyone upvoting a post where OP cries that Shai doesn’t get ‘credit’ and OKC has no ‘depth’.

lol

y’all are dumb

I always see the “what would happen if Luka was on OKC” hypotheticals but I always wondered if the Mavs Celtics finals series look different if we swapped Luka for SGA…

Luka didn’t shoot the ball well at all and was extremely turnover prone that entire series….efficiency and limiting turnovers are some of SGA’s biggest strengths so it’s an interesting hypothetical I don’t see enough compared to the former

Clown out here tryna tell us that Shai would win with the Wizards lineup

79% upvoted y’all some salty bitches

People wanting to talk down on his MVP status is so lame.

I don’t think fans want to accept it but imo Shai is pretty clearly the best 1 guard at least since Steph.

Gives you a positionally great defender in addition to a player who gives you a stupid amount of surplus efficiency in a way no defender has a good answer for.

I do mean at least since Steph in that it’s a convo between him and Steph. And if you prefer Steph you might still prefer current Shai to any Steph but ‘15 and ‘16.

He’s generational.

Not a Shai hater or anything but having amazing depth means it matters less when secondary stars are out FYI

Shai is special but you can’t carry alone even though some of you think that. You throw a great player in a trash team they are not going to be a great team.

Chet and jtub ain’t that good. Outside of those two, shai has the deepest squad probably since the dynasty celtics. At every position, okc have at least 2 competent backups. In some cases, they have multiple special players who can play backup to one another. A good example is Cason Wallace, dort and Caruso, who are all elite 3 and d players. Not to mention, the thunder have a positive net rating without shai on the floor, and its a large positive net rating as well.

Shai is honestly not that good. The best indicator of this are his playoff numbers, especially against good defensive teams. For the sake of brevity, ill keep this brief, so heres just 1 stat. Against teams with a top 10 defensive rating in the playoffs, shai has shot just 43% from the field in a sample of 15 games

Shai is the best player in the world and people need to start realizing this.

Hmm, I think this Shai guy is pretty good.

At some point those numbers stop being about the roster and just show Shai is straight up carrying.

This argument is kinda stupid, I don’t think anyone is arguing that okc’s strength is in it’s second best player. Same thing Brown and the Celtics before Tatum came back, it’s just a deep team even with the loss of key players. You could probably replace Shai or Brown with a top 10 player on either of those teams and get similar results.

It’s almost like Shai is the MVP of the league.