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via Imago

via Imago

A new force is making its way into the NBA. Well, he has already dug a spot for himself amongst the most proficient players today. Hailing from Canada, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is having another wonderful campaign. He is scoring effortlessly, disturbing offense, and elevating the Oklahoma City Thunder into competitors. Adding to his list of wins was a place in the West All-Star starters. SGA had to beat out Stephen Curry to take the seat.

It’s for the first time since 2013 that Curry won’t acquire a place in the All-Star game as a starter. For Gilgeous-Alexander, it’s his second consecutive All-Star selection. Since last year, the former Clipper guard has found a new dimension to his game. He is the fourth leading scorer in the league and is the main factor in OKC’s culture shift.

Watching him play is like art. It’s liberating and pleasing to the eye. What might be better? His lyrical genius and it was on full throttle to celebrate his All-Star inclusion.

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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has a creative way of celebrating against Stephen Curry

Having SGA as an All-Star starter had become a no-brainer at this point. Not much thought has to be given to a superstar of his caliber. The 6’6″ shooting guard is having another marvelous season, but this time he is winning. The Thunder are the second seed in the West standing at 31-13 this season. Unsurprisingly, SGA is contributing immensely, having compiled 9.3 shares already.

It was for the first time his game became synonymous with winning. While the Thunder’s dynamo core is majorly responsible for it, without Shai’s production, it wouldn’t even be happening in the first place. Hence why he earned the votes to be a starter. But it wasn’t unanimous.

Gilgeous-Alexander had to fight a battle outside of the NBA. You see, he ranked 1st in both player and media votes. It isn’t shocking since his peers are well-informed about his supreme season. However, where fan votes are the majority decider, SGA fell behind. The likes of Curry and Luka Doncic have more of an influence on fans. Ultimately, due to SGA’s voting position on player and media panels, he got the nod over the Baby Face Assassin.

Of course, the Canadian hooper had to celebrate. But he doesn’t just express his happiness with a straightforward message of gratitude. Instead, SGA has a tradition of writing lyrics. His latest cryptic message might have taken a shot at the fans for having him third among the West guards.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wrote, “i’m not into trading words or sentences, i’m the last to start, but the first to finish it,”

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Regardless of the distribution, the 180-pound scoring virtuoso very much deserves his spot as a starter. He is doing more than just scoring. He has every spot on the court to score. Shai has clearly developed into an intellect who knows how to utilize his gifts. Using the evident size advantage, he decided to attack the inside and score from with bread and butter – the mid-range.

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Albeit, it isn’t just his offense that has left the league scrambling. Just ask the guard he covers on any given night. SGA is averaging a career-best 2.3 steals per game. He also leads the league in total steals this season. It’s the mark of a true superstar, someone who competes relentlessly on both sides of the floor.

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Also, if there was an award for All-Star lyrics, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander would start on that team too.

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