Shy Gilgaus Alexander has solidified himself as a winning player and NBA class this season, and one of his teammates believes he is already ahead of the two elite security guards.
In the final offseason, the Oklahoma City Thunder signed Isaiah Hertenstein of the Journeyman Center, leaving the New York Knicks, hoping that he and Alex Caruso would become missing films.
It was clear that those moves paid off after winning the first title in franchise history. Both additions played a key role in the success of the Thunder, but the team is firmly part of MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Hartenstein has performed with legends such as the Houston Rockets, Nicola Jokic, Kawi Leonard and Jalen Branson’s James Harden, but he considers the SGA to be the best security guard they’ve ever shared a courtroom.
Throughout his career, Harden has been criticized for his sky statistics, lack of defensive efforts, and playoff shortcomings. Branson hasn’t been in the spotlight for the same long time as Harden, but he and the Knicks have fallen early in the playoffs of the past three seasons.
After winning the Finals MVP, SGA has already proven to be a reliable leader in the playoffs, with Hartenstein celebrating the team-first mentality.
“He has no ego,” the center explained. “No, ‘I’m just going to score, I’m trying to make it myself.’ That’s not the case. At the beginning of the season he threw a pass to me and I threw it to the next guy. And he seems to be “I don’t care.” ”
The SGA led the league in scoring last season, but it appears not to be manufactured like Harden’s three goals and a lonely assist title.
The 2018 draft class, including Gilgeous-Alexander and Brunson, already has five All-Stars, with players like Mikal Bridges and Deandre Ayton not too late.
However, SGA was the first to win the ring as a key contributor, let alone a team leader.
The biggest slander for Harden is the lack of success from the team. He only played the NBA Finals once in 2013, and was far from the best player on that Thunder team.
Branson has a lot of time left, but he is not safe from being known as a great regular season player who simply can’t make the leap. Hartenstein has identified SGA as a player who can already put teams first, but this is rare.
| player | GP | ppg | APG | SPG | FG% | Playoff records |
| James Harden | 146 | 35.3 | 7.5 | 1.9 | 44.3% | 11-12 |
| Jalen Branson | 145 | 26.5 | 6.5 | 0.9 | 48.4% | 13-11 |
| Shy Gilgaus Alexander | 76 | 32.7 | 6.4 | 1.7 | 51.9% | 16-7 |
“Even if he had set up those huge numbers, he wasn’t searching for them,” continued Hertenstein. “He’s trying to make his team the best possible, meaning he’s playing on both sides of the court, and I think that’s really underrated. He’s defending.
Harden is one of the best scorers of all time, but SGA adds another dimension to the game, leading to team success. Branson, like Harden, is one of the best security guards in the league, but he hasn’t taken the real next step yet.