The scoring title is back in Oklahoma City.
After eight seasons, when former Thunder guard Russell Westbrook last led the league in scoring, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has retrieved the crown. In 76 games, he averaged 32.7 points, shooting 51.9% from the field, 37.5% from 3-point range and 89.8% from the free-throw line.
There was no race. The second best scoring average, held by Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, was 30.4 points per game.
Despite being sidelined for OKC’s final three games — it clinched the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference back on March 20 — SGA finished the season with 2,484 points. That’s 310 more points than Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards, the league’s runner-up in total points.
SGA finished the season with the most 20-point games (75), 30-point games (49), 40-point games (13) and 50-point games (4). His streak of 72 consecutive games scoring at least 20 points became the longest such streak in NBA history, eclipsing Michael Jordan’s previous record.
Throughout an MVP season, only once did Gilgeous-Alexander score fewer than 20 points in a game, an 18-point performance in a win over the San Antonio Spurs on Oct. 30 in which he played his third fewest minutes in any game this season (just under 28).
This season marked Gilgeous-Alexander’s third consecutive season averaging at least 30 points, joining a short but illustrious list occupied by Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabaar, James Harden and Bob McAdoo.
Gilgeous-Alexander becomes the third different player to be crowned the league’s scoring champion as a member of the Thunder, joining Kevin Durant and Westbrook. It marks the seventh separate scoring title in Oklahoma City, with Durant winning four times and Westbrook winning twice.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wins NBA scoring title
