Easy offensively by successively playing Matthew Strazel, Frank Ntilikina and Andrew Albicy, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander demonstrated all his offensive talent on the boards of the CO'Met Arena yesterday.
The Thunder point guard/guard, who was in the running for the MVP title until the end of the season, is not an NBA All-Star for nothing… Elusive in his furtive forays towards the circle, like when he faked Rudy Gobert with a magnificent “hesitation dribble”, SGA also set an example in defense, not hesitating to tease the French ball carriers.
Undisputed leader of his team on the boards, with a 3-point shot that calmed everyone down in the last quarter, the Oklahoma City “franchise player” told us his reactions after the victory (85-73). And he has serious reasons to have great ambitions for these Parisian Olympics.
“France is one of the teams that everyone wants to play”
Shai, you were very good against France, with 23 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and a solid 27 rating. What do you take away, straight away, from this success in Orléans?
It's a good win. There are still things we can do better, on both sides of the pitch. But it's always good to be able to pocket a victory like that against a team as talented as France. It's positive for the future.
How is your training camp going, knowing that you are integrating some important new players, including Jamal Murray, who did not play against the Blues?
We almost all played together last summer so we knew we were already going to have some kind of chemistry coming into this summer. But we really feel like we're stronger than last year. We can't wait to see where it can take us in the coming weeks.
What did you think of the level of the French team in this match?
They're good! They're tough, they've got size. They really make you work, whether it's defensively or offensively.
” I really like [nos nouvelles recrues] »
Are you satisfied with the preparation phase of your team, which has been gaining momentum since its first international medal last summer?
Absolutely. That's why we wanted to come before the Olympic Games, to play some high-level matches against great teams. And it's going really well so far.
Do you want to see other events at the Olympics?
Tennis, athletics, ping pong, football… A bit of everything honestly.
A word on the Thunder's very interesting recruiting this summer [mais le staff du Canada coupe court] ?
It's very good, I like it a lot [les nouvelles recrues] [souffle-t-il, poussé vers la sortie de la zone mixte]…
Interview conducted in Orléans
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2018-19 | LAKE | 82 | 27 | 47.6 | 36.7 | 80.0 | 0.7 | 2.1 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 2.1 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 0.6 | 10.8 |
| 2019-20 | OKAY | 70 | 35 | 47.1 | 34.7 | 80.7 | 0.7 | 5.2 | 5.9 | 3.3 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 19.0 |
| 2020-21 | OKAY | 35 | 34 | 50.8 | 41.8 | 80.8 | 0.5 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 5.9 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 23.7 |
| 2021-22 | OKAY | 56 | 35 | 45.3 | 30.0 | 81.0 | 0.7 | 4.3 | 5.0 | 5.9 | 2.5 | 1.3 | 2.8 | 0.8 | 24.5 |
| 2022-23 | OKAY | 68 | 36 | 51.0 | 34.5 | 90.5 | 0.9 | 4.0 | 4.8 | 5.5 | 2.8 | 1.7 | 2.8 | 1.0 | 31.4 |
| 2023-24 | OKAY | 75 | 34 | 53.5 | 35.3 | 87.4 | 0.9 | 4.7 | 5.5 | 6.2 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 30.1 |
| Total | 386 | 33 | 49.6 | 34.9 | 85.2 | 0.7 | 4.0 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 2.3 | 1.4 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 22.8 | |
How to read the stats? GM = Games Played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots Made / Shots Attempted; 3pts = 3-pointers / 3-pointers Attempted; LF = Free Throws Made / Free Throws Attempted; Off = Offensive Rebound; Def = Defensive Rebound; Tot = Total Rebounds; Pd = Assists; Fte: Personal Fouls; Int = Steals; Bp = Loose Balls; Ct: Blocks; Pts = Points.
